What Comes at Dusk
by ImmensleyOblivious
Summary: Alice Brandon is an average teenager with a penchant for fashion, a friendly demeanor, and the occsional premonition. She's moved to Forks, Washington to live with her dad, and she's determined to make the best of it. Then there's the golden-haired boy at the lunch table across the cafeteria. He's irresistable, completely handsome, and entirely dangerous. And she can't resist him.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, so I wrote this completely on impulse and It's like 2 am, so there might be some mistakes, but I think this could be a lot of fun. Anyway, I procrastinated on studying for a calc exam so I could write this, so you guys had better review. I'm actually pretty exited about this. No lies. I don't own Twilight, but you knew that. Read and review! Also, sorry if Alice seems a little out of character, but ya know, we've never really met human Alice, so how do you know for sure?**

Rain. There was a lot of it, and it was never-ending. Whether a torrential down-pour, or a light mist that seemed to hang in the air and seep through everything, Forks had never changed, and it probably never would.

Alice Brandon was moving back, and she couldn't quite believe it had actually been her idea.

"Of all the stupid ideas," she muttered to herself as she struggled to maneuver her heavy suitcase off the loading dock.

Alice was the very definition of the word "petite" and the luggage was almost more than half her weight.

Finally, she righted the wheels onto the ground and huffed stray pieces of dark hair from her face, her expression displaying an aversion to the situation.

Alice looked around the airport, massive green eyes searching for her dad, Charlie. She spotted him right outside the bathroom entrance, an eager expression on his otherwise stoic face. A bright smile lit up her face, despite her current mood. She'd missed her dad. They'd always been close.

Charlie was never one to display emotion, while she had never had the slightest problem doing so. Yet he never seemed to mind the constant "I love you's" and the "best dad ever" comments, and Alice never minded his grunts of appreciation. They lived in a peaceful realm of co-existence.

He spotted her as she made her way over and a smile graced his lips. "Hey dad!" She hurried over to him and put an arm around his waist, the other gripping her suitcase handle. His arms went around hers and patted her back awkwardly. "It's good to see ya, Al." He grumbled out uncomfortably, yet still wearing an expression of happiness. He grabbed her case and she wrapped an arm through his, reaching his chest. She was the same height she'd been since turning thirteen, and just as little as ever compared to him.

xxxxx

Alice was glad to have her dad back and she was glad to be living with him for her last two years of high school, but God in heaven, why did it have to rain ninety-five percent of the time. Rain wasn't always a bad thing. It allowed for cute rain boots with matching raincoats. But everyday? No one could love that, not even Alice, who always tried to look on the bright side.

She glanced out of the passenger window as she and her dad drove to the house. Water rolled down the pane and she resisted the urge to sigh loudly. She didn't want him to think she was already bored of the small town, even if she was. She started to turn her head away when her eyes shot wide open and a glassy film covered them.

 _A laughing woman wrapped her arms around a man, her lover, and they danced around an almost empty room, paint cans and brushes on top of old sheets littering the floor around them. Happiness and love radiated from them._

"Al, you okay?" Alice snapped back to reality,

"Uh, yeah, sorry, kinda zoned out for a sec," she chuckled nervously, twiddling her thumbs in her lap.

She knew the women she'd seen; it was her mom. And the man was her moms new fiancé, Adam. Alice forced her breathing to calm down. For the past few years she'd been having these premonitions of sorts. They weren't ever anything big, usually pretty casual, actually. Like a grade she would get on a test, or what flavor ice cream her friend Jodi would choose at Ric's Ice Creamery. Or, in this case, just how happy she'd allowed her mom to be by deciding to move in with her dad. Alice had never told anyone about these 'visions' or 'premonitions,' and she doubted she ever would. It wasn't normal, and it certainly wasn't a big deal, she tried to convince herself.

 _No one needs to know._

She told herself solemnly.

Alice quickly abandoned all thoughts of her visions. Just thinking about them made her anxious and a little scared.

They finally pulled up to the house and her dad parked the car, "your room is still in the same place as always. Got ya some knew bed stuff and some kind of window plant, but I think it's dead." Her dad mumbled out, the last part coming with a scratch of the chin, and a cough.

Alice laughed aloud, "Dad, I seriously doubt you'd be able to tell me what kind of plant you actually bought, let alone keep it alive! But thanks, daddy, I'm sure I can salvage it." She leaned over and kissed his cheek, allowing him to turn away slightly. Alice chuckled and pushed the door open, smelling the damp air. It was cool, crisp, and wet. Like always.

Alice forced a smile on her face and looked at the house. Two stories, white with green shutters, and a wrap around porch. The same exact house that she'd lived in before the divorce when she was 6 months old, and the same house she'd stayed in when she'd visited her dad over the years. She felt a tug on her heart and her smile widened. She loved the house and all the memories it held for her and her dad.

"Let's move it, short. Inside," her dad gestured to the opened front door from the threshold. Alice stuck her tongue out at him for using the nickname "short" as he'd done frequently when it became clear she would never reach over five foot. "Whatever, dad. You'll be what? 50 this year? I'm coming, old man." His eye brows flattened over his eyes as she smiled and battered her eyelashes at him, stepping past him into the house. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

xxxxx

Dinner had been a simple affair. Charlie had absolutely no food in the house except for eggs and ham, so eggs and ham it was. Alice considered volunteering to buy groceries, but she knew her cooking skills were mediocre at best. "Looks like we'll be eating out a lot, because between you and me, we couldn't boil a pot of water," her dad joked, making Alice laugh out loud. "Yeah, burgers at the grill sound great, dad, but you better watch the cobbler, because my sewing skills are worse than my cooking skills, so I won't be able to take your pants out," she laughed at his unamused expression.

And so the night continued; filled with laughter, jokes, unpacking, more jokes, a lot of sarcasm, and the very unpleasant idea of her first day of school, which was just two short days away.

xxxxx

Alice pretty much had the house to herself the next few days, and she made the best of it. She dusted for what was probably the first time in five years, she cleaned the bathroom, hung all of her clothes in her closet and lined all her shoes along the closet floor, coordinated by color and material. She resisted the urge to kiss her new Sam Edelman booties as she placed them down and shut the closet door.

Alice lazed around for the next day, extremely bored and going so far as to pack her bag for school the next day. She shot her mom a text detailing her trip, her arrival, her dads well-fair, and what she planned on wearing on her first day of school.

Dinner that night was frozen lasagna that nearly burned in the oven and was honestly pretty unappetizing anyway. Nonetheless she and her dad sat at the table together and talked about their days.

He talked about some weirdo whom he had arrested for stealing another mans false teeth, and she told him about her day.

Alice was pleasantly surprised to see how well they had fallen into a routine already.

After dinner they cleared the table and she went to her room, changed into her pjs, and browsed through some clothing catalogues. She had an excited feeling in her stomach for the next day. It would be great, she knew it.

xxxxx

A shrill alarm blared through her mind as Alice jolted out of bed, "Crap!" She fell to the floor. She groaned softly and rolled over, rubbing her bottom.

 _It's the first day of school!_

The thought raced through her head as she grabbed her towel and ran to the shower. All morning she couldn't calm herself down. She was too excited and she couldn't even tell why.

"I'm a genie in a bottle, you gotta rub me the right way!" Alice sang out horribly off-key as she shook her hips to the rhythm of the old-school song blaring from her music player.

After she'd finished getting ready, Alice examined herself in a full-length mirror,

 _Makeup? Check_

 _Outfit? Hell, yes, girl. Check_

 _Bag? Check_

 _Smile? Couldn't be bigger!_

Alice raced down the stairs to say goodbye to her dad.

"Daaaaad?! Where are you?" She called out in a sing-song voice.

"Outside, Al, c'mere!"

She grabbed one of the granola bars she'd purchased the day before on her way out,

"Dad, there you are. I thought you'd left without saying- what the heck is that? Oh my gosh, daddy is that mine?!" Alice couldn't control the squeak that came out as she glanced at the new car before her. It was in great condition and not more than five years old. A really good car as far as first cars go.

"Sure is, short, figured you'd need a car and when I saw this one, I figured you'd like it well enough," she clasped her arms around his midsection, briefly knocking him off-balance.

"Like it? Dad, I seriously love it! Thank you so much!"

Charlie patted her back awkwardly, but a satisfied smile spread across his features. "Well, I gotta head off now. Wanted to see your reaction when you saw it. Everything's set up at school, you

just need to head to the front office to get your schedule, alright?"

Alice took the keys from his outstretched hand, "Don't worry so much, dad. I'm pretty sure I'm going to survive my first day at forks high, with all of the 350 kids that go there," she joked with an eye roll. "Whatever, short," he messed with her short hair, getting a slap on the arm in response.

"Oh, go on, look what you did, old man. My hair took the longest time to get ready!" He laughed at her as he closed the door to his car and started it, pulling out of the driveway. Alice waved as he drove by, then got into her car and drove 5 minutes up the road to hell.

xxxx

 _Just breath_

She told herself as she parked her car among many older and rustier cars.

 _Great, my car isn't too flashy, but It'll probably still stick out like a soar thumb_.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a shiny, silver volvo. It was nice, and easily the nicest in the parking lot.

 _Okay, so at least I'm not too obvious._

Alice grabbed her bag and flung it over her shoulder, locking her car as she made her way to a building that read "Front Office" across the top.

She opened the door and made her way to a desk littered with organized papers in different colors. A lady with glasses and pink lipstick looked up at her and smiled, "Hi, what can I do for ya?" Alice smiled brightly at the lady, "Hi, I'm Alice Brandon, this is my first day. I'm pretty sure my dad called and got everything set up for me a few weeks ago."

The receptionists eyes went wide and she smiled brighter. "Why, yes, sweetie, we all knew you were coming! Welcome to Forks! Let me just print your schedule out and you can be on your way." She rushed to the computer and started frantically typing and clicking the mouse.

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it." And she meant that.

 _Man, if everyone is this nice, I might actually love it here._

 **Should I go on? I'm motivated so far.**

 **Olivia!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Woah, I spat this one out pretty quickly. I really hope you guys like this chapter, and I wrote it pretty quickly and revised it just as so, so I hope the mistakes are few in number, if at all. I only got two reviews on the previous chapter, but I'm willing to overlook that. Review people! And also, this isn't going to follow the story of twilight exactly, they'll definitely be some changes. I don't own twilight, and enjoy! Happy reading all!**

"Here you are dear," the reception called to Alice, passing her a newly printed copy of her schedule. "Now, just so ya know, the building numbers are specific to each subject. Building 1 is for History, building 2 for English and other language classes, building three is for math, and building 5 is for science. They'll be markings by all the sets of double doors that lead to each building."

Alice glanced at her class schedule and grinned at the lady behind the desk, "thanks so much for your help. have a great day!"

"Oh, it's no trouble dear, bye now." Alice waved as she exited the building.

 _Okay, so first comes Calculus, then Spanish, next is English, then lunch. After lunch I'll have Anatomy, American history, and then psychology. Easy enough_ , Alice thought to herself as she searched for building 4.

There were a few students walking around and she couldn't tell if she was late or early, but aggressively searched for her class in case of the former. Alice glanced to her left and spotted a rusting sign with a big, black 4 on the front. She smiled in victory as she made her way to the doors.

"Here, let me get that for you," came a voice from her left. She turned her head and spotted light blue eyes and blond hair, which belonged to a smiling boy that looked around her age. "Thanks! I appreciate it," Alice smiled back at the boy, and he beamed.

"My names Mike, you must be Alice Brandon. It's nice to meet you." The boy, Mike, held out his hand and Alice grasped it in hers, giving a gentle shake, "Yeah, how'd you know?" she asked with a questioning look on her face, "In a school with less than 400 kids, you learn faces and notice the new ones, especially if they're pretty. Plus, everyone's been talking about you for the last month." Alice flushed at the compliment, but didn't fail to notice the prematurity of it.

 _I'll need to watch out for this one. He's like a lost puppy._

She thought grimly, but smiled nonetheless. "Oh, right that makes sense," she nodded with a smile, hoping to end the conversation; she really needed to get to class.

"Hey, what's your next class? Do you know where it is?" Mike asked, obviously looking forward to being her knight in shining armor. "Oh, yeah I actually do, but thanks for the concern. It should be right… here. Room 419," She replied, not without a polite smile.

"Oh, Mr. Fraizer, Well he's a good teacher, gives lots of extra credit. I'm actually right across the hall now, room 410, so I'll probably see you after class, then?" Alice tried not to look annoyed at his persistence, and reminded herself that he was just being nice to the new kid.

She sighed and put a smile on, as always. "Yeah, Mike, that'd be nice." He gave her a grin so wide it hurt her mouth just to look at it. "Great! Sounds like a plan. And I'll help you find your next class. Maybe you can sit with me and my friends at lunch, too."

"Thanks, we'll see how it goes. Bye!" they waved to each other and Alice shook her head and she entered the classroom.

xxxxx

The first three classes of the day were all pretty much the same. Alice walked in and caught basically everyone's attention. The teacher called her to the front and she introduced herself, then quietly sat down out of the way of prying eyes. She met a nice girl named Angela in her Spanish class and another named Jessica in her English class, which she shared with the both of them. "Okay, so you're like, going to sit with us at lunch, right?" Jessica asked with wide eyes, "Mike mentioned he invited you." Alice smiled at her, relieved they knew Mike and she already knew three people at the lunch table. "Yeah! I didn't know you guys sat with him, but this is great. Now we can all sit together!"

Alice felt herself getting excited again. She knew people, they were being extremely nice to her, and she had people to sit with at lunch on her first day of school!

"Hello, earth to Alice, you okay?" Jessica waved a hand in her face, breaking Alice out of her excited trans. "huh, oh, yeah! I'm fine. Just glad I have people to sit with," She smiled genuinely at the girls as they made their way into the cafeteria.

"Yo, Alice, over here!" Called Mike from a table in the middle of the lunchroom. He was sitting with three other people and they were all looking at her curiously. The three girls arrived at the table and Alice grinned at the occupants. "Hey, guys! It's nice to meet you, I'm Alice." A dark skinned boy shook her hand and smiled, nice and warmly, "Hey, Alice, good to meet you. I'm Tyler."

She met the next kid, Eric, who kept winking at her in an innocent, kind of hilarious way. The last girl was Lauren, who smiled, but Alice could tell it was anything but friendly.

They grabbed their food and Alice sat down between Angela and Jessica. The conversation floated between asking Alice all about her life and where she was from, to the latest gossip. Everyone at the table seemed to have something to say regarding the latter subject, and Alice quietly listened, completely unaware of whom or what they were talking about.

She had just turned away, losing interest in the gossip, when she spotted them. They were walking, no, effortlessly strutting, into the cafeteria. A bronze-haired boy was first and trailing behind him was a brunette girl. They were easily the most attractive people she had ever seen. Tall, willowy, and perfect. She glanced to the couple right behind them and couldn't believe the big guy there, who was the size of a bear, was just as good-looking. And then the girl.

 _Holy shit,_ Alice couldn't help but think. She was everything a girl could want to be. Tall, blond, curvy, and the most beautiful person Alice had ever seen.

Alice almost couldn't look away from the group, she was so mesmerized by the four of them.

"Who are they?" She asked no one in particular, but fully expecting an answer. Jessica snorted, "Oh, I knew it wouldn't be long before you saw them. Forks, Washington's own clan of supermodels." She said with no small degree of bitterness and jealousy. "They're the Cullen's," Angela explained to her. "They moved here a few years ago and live with their adopted parents on the outskirts of the town." Alice immediately looked confused, "Wait, but… are they like-,"

"Yes," Jessica cut her off. "They're all together. I guess their parents are like matchmakers extraordinaire. The brunette girl is Bella, and she's with the hot guy next to her, Edward. And then Emmett's the big dark haired guy, and he's with Rosalie, the blonde girl."

"Oh, well, they're all so…" Alice couldn't even think of a good enough word for them. "Extremely hot? Beautiful? Incomparably sexy?" Mike said out of nowhere, looking wistfully at the two girls, Bella and Rosalie.

Jessica rolled her eyes, and bumped his shoulder with hers, "Never gonna happen. Besides they're all happily to-,"

But Alice didn't hear the next part of the sentence. Her eyes zeroed in on a god. Curly golden hair, tall, lithe, and staring right at Alice.

Her heart sped up and she held his gaze for a moment, before looking away.

 _"_ _Who is that?"_ She asked the lunch table intensely. They all looked over and back at her, "That's Jasper. Super-hot, but apparently nobody here's good enough for him." She spat out, aggressively stabbing her salad.

 _Wonder when he turned you down._

Alice thought to herself, risking a look up to the table they all now occupied. They were talking to each other, relaxed and poised all at once. She risked a look at the golden haired boy, Jasper.

Her eyes landed on his face and he immediately looked up at her, black eyes staring deeply into hers.

 _Alice was running, breathing heavily and crying all at the same time. She couldn't catch her breath and her legs were cramping up. "Jasper! Help me!" she screamed out, hoping he would hear her, but she was alone. Completely alone. She collapsed on the cold, damp earth. She was in the woods and it was dark, she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She folded her arms around her chest, sobs wrecking her body. "There you are," called a voice from the darkness. It was sweet, and terrifying; sending chills through her whole body. "Don't worry, tiny girl, this will only hurt for a second."_

Alice's snapped back to reality, her eyes went wide, watering slightly as she swallowed the lump in her throat. It had been a premonition. She got them every now and then, but they were never like _that_. This one was real, and dangerous, and worst of all, it had something to do with this guy across the room from her. She glanced at the people at her table, and they all seemed to not have noticed her odd behavior. She sighed, only slightly relieved. She glanced back over to the Cullen's. The bronze-haired one was speaking harshly and he looked confused, and completely pissed off.

Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion, when suddenly, five pairs of black, endlessly deep eyes stared at her face. Her eyes met theirs one-by-one. Lastly landing on Jaspers. Her heart skipped a beat. The boy who had been speaking earlier, Edward, barked out something and they quickly averted their eyes, like nothing had just happened.

Alice continued to look at them, waiting for them the look back, but they didn't.

They remained as stoic and relaxed as before. Unreasonable panic seeped into Alice. It was dread, terror, wonder, and confusion all rolled into one.

 _What the hell just happened?_ She thought to herself.

Thanks!

Olivia


	3. Chapter 3

**In all reality, do not get used to these updates. I'm a full-time college student and i've got a lot going on, but my homework is finished so I thought 'what the hell' and decided to give you guys a THIRD chapter in two days. Seriously though, review. Let me know what you think. Thanks guys. I don't own twilight, and this is getting redundant. Enjoy and happy reading!**

Alice glanced around her at the faces of her new friends, but they were completely unaffected by what had just happened.

 _And why shouldn't they be? They weren't even paying attention!_

She found herself staring at the Cullen's. Their perfect faces covered by masks devoid of emotion. She looked at Jasper again, examining his unruly hair and whatever she could makeout of his face from a distance. She just couldn't believe how completely beautiful he was.

Looking at him made Alice's heart beat faster and her palms clammy. She was blatantly staring at him and she didn't even care.

 _How can I not stare? Look at him. Look at all of them_.

Someone next to her cleared their throat, pulling Alice back to reality. She glanced over and saw Jessica smirking knowingly at her, "He's hot, right?" Jessica teased.

 _Hot is such an insult. He's beautiful. Like a golden Adonis made specifically for people to look at._

"Yeah, he's hot," she replied back, choosing instead to just agree with Jessica.

Black eyes snapped to hers, but not the pair she wanted to see. It was the brother with the bronze hair, Edward. He looked at her and narrowed his eyes, not threateningly, but more like he was trying to understand her. Alice was getting uncomfortable, and more than a little nervous.

 _These people are almost as bad as me. Stop staring already!_

Alice quirked the side of her mouth up and waved at him. A second passed before he put on a crooked smile and seemed to be laughing at her.

"Did Edward Cullen just smile at you?" Jessica asked quietly. Not for the privacy, but out of shock.

"Oh, stop, it isn't a big deal. He's a normal human being like you and I. So what if he smiled?" As she said that Edward seemed to laugh even harder, and the rest of his family was smiling and glancing at Alice as well, as if sharing some private joke. Well, all of them apart from Jasper, who was sullenly staring at the table.

No way can they be laughing at me. They can't even hear me. There's no way they can know what I said.

But there was a doubt in her mind; nagging at her.

Jessica gaped at the table across the cafeteria, hardly believing her eyes. "I'm telling you, they don't smile or wave, or even acknowledge people. espe... Oh my god, Jasper Hale is looking right at you. No, don't look over. Enjoy it while it lasts." Alice could have listened, but she was just too curious.

She looked up and met his black eyes. This time, he held her gaze and her breath caught in her throat. The world seemed to stand still and time ceased to exist. It wasn't explainable or even realistic, but it was true.

An overwhelming feeling of desire took over her. She didn't understand it, and it came out of the blue, like a slap in the face.

Still, she didn't look away, until the brunette, Bella, placed a hand on his arm and he shut his eyes, turning his face away.

 **(A/N: for those that didn't get that part, Jasper was obviously overcome with desire for her blood, and being an empath, transferred that desire to Alice, she just interpreted it a bit differently. And Bella obviously intervened)**

Suddenly the bell for the end of lunch rang and she was rushed away by an eager Mike. They were off to their anatomy class before Alice had a chance to turn around and glance back. She pushed back her feeling of annoyance at him.

"So, how you liking things so far? I know it's only half-way through your first day, but still."

Alice glanced beside her at Mike, who was looking at her so earnestly she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes, it was almost cute. She smiled, "Yeah, I like it so far. Everyone seems so welcoming and genuine." Mike laughed in a way he must have thought was flirtatious, "Good, just let me know if anyone's making you uncomfortable and I'll take care of it."

Alice decided not to mention that she wouldn't be letting him take care of anything, and instead sent him a grateful smile. "You're a good friend Mike, I can already tell."

The look on his face made it more than clear she shouldn't have been so complimentary, even if she placed emphasis on the word 'friend.'

Luckily, they had just arrived at their anatomy class and Alice was saved from futher conversation.

The next hour passed by in a blur, her thoughts circulating around black eyes and her vision.

She was more than completely freaked out by that. The fact that she had no idea the context of it and the apparent danger she had been in was extremely off-putting.

Another bell rang and she was off to American History, which was, thankfully, in the opposite direction of Mikes next class. Alice walked alone and found herself enjoying the first few moments of peace she'd had all day.

 _Sometimes it's the little things_ , she thought to herself.

Finally, she stepped into building one and made her way to room 105.

Alice stepped into the room, which was filled with students and the teacher appeared to have already started the lecture. Alice smiled nervously at his expectant expression, "Hi, I'm Alice Brandon. This is American History and you're Mr. Brown, right? This is my first day..." she trailed off pathetically. "Well, Ms. Brandon, I'll excuse your tardy for today. Strive to do better next time." He replied in a not unkind tone of tone. She nodded her head. "Of, course, sir."

He nodded once, and pointed to a seat in the back of the classroom, "Please take a seat in the back next to Mr. Hale." Alice smiled gratefully and made her way toward the back. She reached her seat, which was actually a table desk for two, and lifted her head to smile at her table partner.

Alice froze immediately. It was him. Jasper.

He wasn't looking at her, in fact, he seemed to be doing everything in his power to not look at her. His jaw was clenched and his hands were folded, knuckles white with force. Alice slid uncomfortably into her seat.

The next half-hour passed unbearably slow. She wanted to introduce herself, give him her best smile, and shake his hand.

Only she couldn't bring herself to even open her mouth; something she'd never had a problem with before that moment.

 _Stop being so stupid, just say Hi. It's not rocket science!_

Alice cleared her throat, turned slightly in his direction and opened her mouth.

"Uh, Hi, I'm Alice," she spoke timidly and quietly.

He said nothing. There was no reaction, no nod, no hint that he had actually heard anything she had said.

Alice drew in her eyebrows at him, clearing her voice again, and saying more firmly this time, "I said, Hi, my name is Alice."

Still, nothing. Alice felt her eyes go wide. He was blatantly ignorning her.

 _And to think I wanted to introduce myself! What a selfish, rude, complete-_

"Hello, Alice."

She snapped her eyes to his face, but he was already turned away, or maybe he hadn't even looked at her. A pained expression was on his face, she noticed. In fact, it seemed to have been there every time she'd looked at him, like he was experiencing some great inner turmoil.

 _Well if that's all he has to say, I won't force my conversation, which he clearly can't stand_.

xxxxx

The next two weeks passed much the same way as the first day.

Mike was making his interest more pronounced, it rained all fourteen days, and she'd tried everything possible to forget her terrifying vision. It kept looming before her, like an approaching threat, which was probably exactly what it was.

 _Maybe it's not real. How can it be?_

But Alice knew her visions were never wrong.

Alice forced a change in her thoughts, growing very weary of them currently.

She has other things to worry about, like how she'd made it her personal goal to get Jasper Hale to speak to her again.

Since that first day he hadn't so much as spared her a glance. Everyday she said hello, and everyday she was met with silence.

Alice had asked her father about his family, and he had been very defensive of them. "They're good people, all of them. Never had an ounce of trouble from a single one of those kids. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen raised them right." He'd said.

But, after asking Jessica and Angela as much as she dared, she found that she still knew next I nothing about them.

 _They're so unsociable and mysterious. Maybe it's arrogance and they think they're better than everyone else, but I can't quite believe that. I think they're just different and much more mature than the other teens around them._

Alice walked into History and plopped down right next to Jasper, just in time for Mr. Brown to start talking.

Sitting next to him even upset her. She didn't understand what was so wrong with her that he wouldn't say a word to her.

Alice huffed and folded her arms over her chest, much too upset to pay attention to whatever the teacher was saying.

"Whoever got you mad better look out, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that look on your face." Alice slowly turned to face the boy next to her. He wasn't looking her, and he still had that pained expression on his face, but he had spoken. Not only had he spoken, but he'd said something... Funny?

What had the world come to.

 _And where is he from?_ She wondered, catching onto his southern accent for the first time.

Alice knew she had to say something quick, or lose the moment,

 _And he'll never speak to me again and I might die from that! Not die, but be seriously sad. He's got such a nice voice, he should talk more. Dear lord, that southern twang... ALICE! Shut up and say something, dammit!_

"It's your fault, actually. Everyday I say hello to you, and you never say anything in response. It's quite rude." She couldn't believe she'd said that, of all things why that, but she couldn't take it back now.

Jasper remained a statue, not looking at her.

"Sorry, ma'am, sometimes I forget my manners. You'll have to excuse me."

 _He's talking!_ Alice cheered to herself.

She had to keep him going.

"I might be more inclined to forgive you if you'd look me in the eye and say you're sorry." She'd pushed it. She knew she had and she worried he might go back to how he'd been the past few weeks.

Minutes passed in silence and Alice wanted to kill herself for saying something he was obviously uncomfortable with.

She'd stopped hoping for a response after a few minutes.

 _Ugh, back to square one._

She rested her chin on her hand a sighed.

Suddenly, Alice saw in her periphery he was turning his head towards her.

And slowly, like she might frighten him away with sudden movements, she turned to look at him as well. He was staring at her face, first her eyes, then her nose and her lips, only it wasn't just staring, it was unabashed examination. His eyes rested on hers for the briefest of moments when he opened his mouth. "I'm Sorry, Alice." And he faced forward again, like nothing had happened.

 **Okey dokey!**

 **That's chapter three! I want to point out that this probably won't be a fast paced love story. In fact, it won't be. Jasper's going to struggle with his feelings for a while before they'll actually be a real item. And I'm really looking forward to the progression of her friendship with the rest of the Cullen's! One more thing, I'm not entirely sure what I want to put in place of the car accident scene, but I do want it to be something different. So suggestions are definitely welcome! Thanks for reading guys!**

 **Olivia**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay guys so I spent a total of 6 hours in a car today, and between this and studying for my anatomy exam, I managed to cover another chapter! I've never gotten this far in a story before and I'm pretty surprised. Also, I went back and read over my last three chapters, and there are several mistakes with grammar and things like that, so I'm apologizing for that and for any that you come across while reading this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think! Enjoy and happy reading!**

 _The sky was grey and covered in clouds, which was not unusual for Forks. Alice was laying on the grass, one hand covering her stomach, the other stretched out over her head. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, imagining she was somewhere on the coast of California, soaking up as much summer sun as she could. A small smile came to her as she let her daydream consume her. "Whenever I see that secret smile on your lips, it takes me away," called a voice to her left._

 _Alice turned her head and opened her eyes to see Jasper looming over her, wearing a secret smile of his own. Alice smiled brightly at him, "And your smile makes me feel like I could fly." She sat up just as he squatted down, bringing their faces very close together. Alice's smile grew, while his seemed to dwindle. Jasper went very still, turning his face away slightly. "Wh?. Why do you always do that? You turn away from me as soon as we get closer. Like you're keeping me at an arms length." Alice slowly brought her hand up to touch his face, but he drew back suddenly, leaning away. Alice pulled her hand back, hurt by his rejectjion._

 _"Wait... It's not you. It's never you. It's me. I'm... Alice, I can't control myself around you and If I get too close, something bad could happen. I'm not willing to risk that with you. I will never risk that."_

Alice jolted awake, breathing heavily as she ran a hand through her hair. This was the same dream she'd had every night for the past 3 days. She didn't know if it was a vision or not, and she didn't know if she wanted it to be.

 _What is it about him? Aside from his looks, there's nothing about him that seems to be the reason for my obsession. He barely even talks to me._

Jasper and Alice had fallen into a routine over the past week. Or at least, in Alice's mind they had.

She would keep her glances toward him during lunch to a minimum (somewhere between 50-100 times) and when they sat next to each other during history they exchanged a very brief 'hello.'

Yet, there was something between them.

It couldn't even really be put into words. Alice felt the most wonderfully painful ache in her chest when he was around. Like her soul wanted to jump out of her and connect with his.

It was the only explanation she could come up with as to why she couldn't get him out of her thoughts.

 _I need to talk to him. I should just go up to him and say "hey, I think we should get to know each other better. Do you like pizza? Let's get some!"_

 _...On second though, never say that. Ugh, pizza, Alice? Really? Of course he likes pizza, everyone likes pizza. At this rate any conversation I attempt to make will just make me sound like a desperate jackass._

Alice pulled the covers back to her chin, snuggling deeper into her bed. She'd think more about her problems later, when she'd had at least a solid eight hours of beauty rest.

xxxxx

Alice took extra care getting ready the next morning. She wore mostly black and her favorite black ankle boots. She spent more time than usual on her hair and makeup, as well. On her way out of her room, she stopped in front of the long mirror and examined herself one last time before she was off.

Her dad was in the kitchen with his uniform on, probably getting ready to leave for work.

"Hey, daddio, I'll be home around 3:45 today. I'll probably just hang around, do some homework or whatever. When you get home we can grab some dinner together."

Alice grabbed an apple off the counter and took a large bite of it, grabbing her keys with the other hand.

"That's fine. We've been pretty busy at the office lately, paperwork and all that other crap, so I might be late, but I should be home by around 6."

Alice checked the time on her phone and realized she was probably going to be late.

"Shoot! Ok, daddy, that's fine! I'll see you later. Love you!" She kissed his cheek on her way out, hearing him send her a grumbled "love you" back. She grinned to herself as she got in her car, adjusting her mirrors before pulling out and driving to school.

xxxxx

Alice slid into a parking space fairly close to her first class and quickly gathered all of her things. She was already two minutes late and she knew it would take at least five to get there from where she currently was.

 _Damn my short legs!_ She internally cried for what was probably the millionth time in her life.

Alice had begun to perform the awkward walk/run women in a rush always seemed to do.

She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and she didn't take notice of the yellow 'caution' tape that surrounded the entire side of the new gym that was being built.

Alice was busy shoving her keys into her purse when she heard a yell, "Get out of the way! Move!"

She froze in place and her eyes searched everywhere for the person who had yelled.

She glanced on top of the gym and noticed construction workers waving frantically at her with both of their arms. Her eyes squinted at them, trying to make sense of their ministrations.

One of the men pointed above her, and when Alice looked up, she saw what they had been taking about.

It was a massive crane, holding a giant pyramid of bricks. And they were forming a dip in the middle of the pallet.

In life, people often think about what they would do in life or death situations. Alice always thought she was the type to run away, the girl who survived in the horror film because she'd actually use common sense.

But in that moment, when her life was on a fence between life and death, she didn't make a move. Her legs were locked, her breathing had stopped, and her eyes were glued to the mass above her. She was going to die, and she knew it.

The platform the bricks were on was snapping in the middle, it was about to break and she would be crushed by a thousand pounds of brick. The men on the roof were screaming, running over to the ladder in a futile attempt to help.

She just kept staring up.

In reality, only a few seconds had passed, but it felt like a lifetime before the platform finally gave way. Alice came to her senses and made a decision to move, but it was too late. She'd be dead in 3, 2, 1...

"Ooof," Alice slammed into the hard ground, an ache instantaneously rushing to her head.

She lay there for a few seconds, her mind blank. In the background she heard men yelling and rushing to the pile of fallen bricks.

 _What the hell..._

"Alice. Alice, answer me. Open your eyes. Now." A demanding voice called from above her.

Alice slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the general brightness of day.

A figure hovered above her, stroking her hair out of her face.

"Jasper?" She said his name timidly, like she was afraid he would whither away into nothing.

"Yes. Now, look at me. Are you alright? No, don't shut your eyes. Look at me. Alice, are you alright?"

He had grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. "Yes! I'm looking at you. I'm okay, I'm okay." She stared into his eyes. They were... Golden?

"Your eyes... They're so different from... Before. They're gold." Alice couldn't help but admire them.

 _But when had they changed color? Just a few days ago I could have sworn they were black!_

Jasper let out a breath and closed his eyes briefly, opening them up again to stare at her face.

"You're fine. You'll be fine."

He sat up and Alice realized he had been leaned over her with both of his hands on either side of her face.

She instantly flushed and looked away. She spotted the pile of bricks the construction workers were busy picking up. A thought whizzed around in her mind, leaving a puzzled look on her face.

"Wait a second. How did you save me? Jasper, we're nearly twenty feet away from that pile of bricks that was two seconds away from squashing me into liquid Alice."

He looked away from her, but not before she saw something in his eyes. It was panic, and complete desperation.

"Alice, it was nothing. I was standing close by and saw the pile about to fall. I just grabbed you and ran over this way."

She shook her head, refusing to accept that.

"No. No. I didn't pass out or anything, Jasper. I know you didn't run with me. I was literally standing right under the pile, and the next thing I know I'm more than twenty feet away. Don't lie to me, I don't know what just happened, but I know you didn't run over here with me."

Jasper scoffed at her,

"Alice, You're not exactly a large person. It was like running with a doll."

Alice felt her face go red with anger, he was mocking her.

"I'm not crazy, and you know it. You didn't run with me. I do know that much."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking towards the sky and avoiding her gaze.

"Well, whatever you think happened, no one is going to believe you."

"Jasper, I'm not going to say anything. I mean, thank you. I don't know if I said that yet. You saved my life, and if you don't want people to know that, I won't say anything."

Jasper sneered at her, coming closer to her face.

"You can do whatever you want Alice. I don't care. I saw someone who was about to die and I did something about it. Don't think that was special treatment."

Alice was briefly taken aback by his statement, but realized this was a good thing. She could finally just speak her mind, and this situation made her more than brave enough.

"I believe you'd do it for anyone, but I don't believe that you don't feel this... This... Whatever this is. I don't even have a name for it. But I know you feel the pull between us. There's something there and you know it."

It wasn't particularly long as far as speeches went, but she was out of breath, probably a result of her combined raised voice and the internal shock at her own audacity.

"You're wrong. I don't know what you think is happening, but believe me when I say, there is nothing between us. I won't go there with you. I will never go there."

Alice froze immediately, her thoughts stilling and her eyes snapped to his.

"What did you just say?"

Jasper's cold gaze met hers, "I said, you're wrong if you think-,"

"No, no, not that. The last parts. The last thing you said just now."

Jasper's gaze turned aggravated and impatient.

"I won't go there with you. I'll never go there," he spat out at her.

He had intended for the message to be made clear, especially after repeating the last part.

However, Alice had a most peculiar look on her face.

 _"I won't risk that with you. I'll never risk that."... Oh my gosh, that's what he said to me in my dream. Almost exactly..._

A grin started to form on her face, spreading and becoming wider. She covered her mouth as she started to laugh. She couldn't help it, so many emotions were piling up and spilling over. Joy, understanding, and relief.

 _So he's lying to me. Or he Just doesn't know it yet, but he definitely feels this connection. Otherwise he wouldn't be getting so defensive about it._

"Why are you laughing? I can't imagine what you find so hilarious."

Alice looked up at him,

 _God, he's so tall._

and stopped laughing, a small smile taking over her mouth.

"I'm not sure why you're fighting so hard, Jasper. I really can't understand it. But you're lying to yourself and to me. That's okay, though. I'll figure out all of your secrets and I'll be here when you figure out mine. We'll go from there."

An angry expression took over his features. "You have no idea what the hell you're talking about. You're out of your mind."

She tilted her head slightly,

"Maybe I am, but I'm never wrong. You'll learn that about me."

He snarled angrily and glared down at her before turning around and quickly walking away, disappearing around a corner and out of her view.

 _Part of me can't believe I just said that, but I had that dream for a reason. It may not have been a conventional vision, but it held truth. What does that mean? What did he mean when he said bad things could happen?_

 _He's not comfortable with this and he's still in denial._

 _He's hiding something, and it's something big. Like, how he saved me? That's the most irrational part. He shouldn't have been able to save me, yet he did._

 _Seriously, who is this guy?_

 _I'm going to figure you out, no matter what._

 **Thanks for reading guys!**

 **Olivia**


	5. Chapter 5

**WOOOOO! Chapter 5 is UP! How fantastic! Hope you guys like this and PLEASE REVIEW! Special thanks to FangirlAlertWatchOut for some story-line ideas, and for making me aware of some of the things I should point out to you. SO, fyi, Jasper doesn't use his power on Alice because he struggles enough as it is with blood-lust also mixed with the fact that he desires her anyway. AND, Alice is not Jasper's singer. Her blood doesn't drive him crazy like Bella's did in the original books. I'm kind of going with the idea that they're like two souls that click in a spiritual sense, as opposed to some sort of physical belonging. ALERT: Alice gets a little emotional in this chapter, but that's just a short-term thing. It's not going to last, I promise. Enjoy and Happy Reading! :)**

He was on her mind.

"Hey dad, will you pass the ketchup?l

 _I wonder if Jasper likes ketchup._

"The silver earrings or the gold earrings?"

 _The gold would match Jasper's eyes..._

"Hey, Alice, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the homecoming dance with me next Friday?"

 _I wonder if Jasper-_  
 _Wait...what?_

Alice's eyes snapped to the person across the aisle in her Anatomy class; it was Mike.  
Panic started to flush through her veins.

 _No, no, no! I want to go to the dance, I love dancing! But I definitely don't want to go with Mike! Plus, I think Jessica would kill me. Ughhhh, say something already, Alice! He's looking worried!_

"Uh... Uhm. Ya know, I hadn't given much thought into whether or not I was going. Maybe you should ask someone else. Anyway, I'd probably just go stag anyway, even if I did go."

"Oh, uh, yeah sure. I'm not really sure who I'd ask, I was really just hoping you'd say yes." Mile straightened himself in his desk, facing towards the front of the classroom. He looked utterly dejected.

"Hey! I know that Jessica needs a date! And I think she'd say yes if you asked her."

"Jessica? I'm not sure-,"  
"Yes, Jessica. You'll have a great time with her! Really Mike, it's a great idea."

He seemed to think about it for a second, his face gradually softening, as if coming to the same realization as her.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I'll do that. Thanks, Alice. But, I'll probably wait a few days, that way if you change your mind, you and I can go together if you still want a date."

 _Stupid, stupid boy._

"Thanks, Mike. You're a great friend." Alice replied in a neutral tone. She turned toward the teacher, indicating their conversation was over.

xxxxx

As the bell rang for fourth period to end, Alice's heart started beating harder and faster. She was on her way to History and it was the first time since the accident the previous Friday that she'd see him.  
She had gone home almost immediately after the accident, faking a stomach ache.

 _Sometimes you just have to sleep It off. For 17 hours straight..._

Alice swallowed the lump in her throat. She'd been so confident on Friday. So sure that Jasper had feelings for her, even if he didn't realize the extent of them, yet.

But she was beginning to doubt herself. Maybe he really didn't like her, and maybe he never would. The thought made her heart sink in her chest and she grew very weary.

 _You don't know that for sure! And, anyway, you still have to figure out what's so odd about him. Maybe it's not a specific thing, but there's gotta be something._

Alice's positive thoughts didn't do much to lighter her mood, and by the time she reached her history class, she was fighting back the most pathetic tears of her life.

 _God, I'm about to cry over some stupid boy who may or may not like me and that also may or may not have some sort of.. Of... I don't even know. Superpower or something._

Alice forced herself to breath deeply in and out several times, calming herself down as she reached her seat. Jasper was already sitting down and staring straight forward. Alice didn't greet him as she normally did every day, she was too afraid she'd lose the emotional control she'd racked up in the last-minute.  
Eventually, class began and students began diligently taking down notes. Jasper sat silently and still. He never took notes.  
Alice, usually one to scribble anything and everything down, glanced at the clear desk before her, not being able to care that she was essentially throwing an entire lesson away.  
Her shoulders slumped forward, just sitting next to him made her want to sink into the ground.

"Alice, Are you alright?"

Her head slowly turned so she was looking at the boy beside her. He was looking at her, his regular stony expression mixed with something that looked vaguely like worry.

 _He's worried about me?_

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to react, and just looking at him with that expression on his face made her closer and closer to tears. She nodded in response, figuring that was the safest course.

"Don't lie, you're upset."

"Oh, how would you know."  
She snapped at him, her saddened state dissipating and turning into an angry one.  
"I can just tell."

She rolled her eyes, "you think you can tell how I'm feeling, but I think the entire time I've known you you've shown like two emotions. Pissed of and uncaring. You don't know anything."

His eyebrows drew together as he continued to stared at her, his voice lowering. "I know more than you think, and you don't have to take your anger out on me."  
Alice turned her head towards him, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Don't have to take it out on you? My mood is _because_ of you. Because you seem to hate me, yet you saved me? And then you ask how I am? And you act like there's nothing going on here?

Alice was breathing heavier as she finished, managing to keep her voice low enough so as to not attract attention.

 _He makes me so frickin' crazy!_

"Alice, I don't hate you."  
She just rolled her eyes.

"I don't have time for your bipolar attitude," Alice snapped at him.  
Jasper started to chuckle quietly, completely stunning Alice.  
"Now, that's not very nice."  
Alice faced him and looked into his eyes. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.  
Jasper's smirk dwindled and his face turned to stone. Alice's mouth fell open and she let out a breath.

He started to lean forward, glancing somewhere below her mouth.  
Alice's mind was a complete mess, moving a hundred miles an hour. But, she didn't care. She didn't care that she was in a class filled with students, that this boy confused the hell out of her, or that she wasn't even sure how she felt about him.  
He was coming closer and she had no choice but to follow his lead.

 _Just a little closer..._

Almost as if someone had forcefully ripped them apart, Jasper nearly flew back. His eyes were wide and a little crazy. His jaw was clenched unbelievably tight, and right then, he was scaring the hell out of her.  
Without another word or look, Jasper swiftly stood up, grabbed his books, and practically ran to the door, letting himself out.  
The entire class, including the teacher, just stared after him, completely silent.  
Alice flushed red with anger and hurt. She was humiliated and if she felt like crying before, the feeling was ten times stronger now.

"Ms. Brandon, would you happen to know what that was about?"  
Alice looked up towards her teacher, every single eye in classroom glued to her tiny form.  
"Uh, I don't... He didn't say anything to me."

She was going to have a panic attack.  
"Uh, can I be excused? To go to the restroom."  
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Thankfully, the teacher seemed to catch onto some of her inner feelings. He simply nodded.  
Alice drew herself up and calmly walked to the door.

She stepped into the hallway, the door closing behind here. She took a deep breath, calming herself.

 _i need air...i need air...i need air_

She rushed to the double doors at the ending the hallway, throwing them open.

It was pouring rain, but she didn't care. It pelted down on her, instantly she was soaked. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the tears streak down her face. Somehow, the mixture of tears and rainwater on her face made Alice feel a little less pathetic, like if someone were to see her they would never know she was crying.

She looked at her surroundings, the lush, green grass around her. The mountains in the distance. It was so peaceful in the midst of this torrential rain.

She waited there for several minutes. Allowing herself to calm down,  
 _Great, now I have to go back inside soaking wet._

Alice turned toward the building, wondering how she'd explain her wet state to everyone. Suddenly, she saw a figure headed directly towards her.  
She squinted through the rain, attempting to better see whoever it was. They were approaching quickly, almost to her now.

It was Jasper, and he looked angry.  
Alice unconsciously took a step back, but it was too late for that.  
He grabbed her left wrist in an iron grip, she glanced toward her hand, but he grabbed her chin.

They stared at each other again, just like in class. Except now, the rain soaked them both, and they were alone.  
Slowly, he brought both of his hands towards her face, grasping it slowly. He leaned towards her, and ever so gently, kissed her forehead.  
Alice's eyes instinctively closed, leaving into the kiss, holding both of his wrists with her hands.

They were one in that moment. A single entity surrounded by troubles and dangers of the future, but for a moment, they didn't care.

Jasper pulled away at last, watching her expression. She glanced at him, so much taller and more powerful than her.

"Alice. There are things you don't know. Things you'll never know. I'm not for you. Whatever's happening between us... It can go no further. All that lies for you in any future that involves me, is hurt and heartbreak. I'm so sorry, but this is the best I can give you."

Alice closed her eyes as she felt his hands leave her face. She refused to accept it.  
"You're wrong, Jasper. I just know it. Being with you, just now, it felt right. How could that possibly be dangerous? I just don't understand any of this, and I don't understand why you think you're so bad for me."  
She opened her eyes on the last part, but he was gone. He had left her alone in the rain.

She was out of tears, and she was tired.

 _How could he have this effect on me? I don't know him. I don't know what he likes to do in his free time, or what bands he likes. I don't know his favorite food, or if he's an animal person or not. I can't feel this way about someone I know so little about, can I?_

Alice tilted her face toward the sky, letting the rain continue to land on her face. It had started to lessen and she knew she should probably make her way back inside.  
"Hey, Alice, is that you?"  
She turned towards the voice to her left, immediately spotting Bella, of all people.  
"Yeah, it's me," she replied quite gloomily.  
They had never talked before, but she felt she could trust this beautiful seemed genuinely nice and sort of peaceful, if that made sense.  
"You don't look so good. Oh my goodness! I didn't mean it like that. I just meant-,"  
Alice laughed in spite of her hurt. "It's okay, I probably really do look awful. We should probably go inside."

"Actually, I was just about to head home, skip my last class. It's only gym anyway. I can bring you home if you like?"  
Alice smiled at Bella, truly touched by the girls kindness.  
"Thanks, Bella, but I left my things in my history class. And anyway, my car is here."  
Bella waved her hand, "oh, don't worry about it. Edward will get your stuff and drive your car back to your house. Plus, I think you're getting sick, Alice. Your eyes are looking pretty red and swollen."

Alice chose not to mention that she had been crying, especially because her brother had been the cause. She suddenly felt exhausted, emotionally and physically.  
"You, know Bella. That would actually be so great. Thanks."

Bella smiled warmly at her, "it's not problem, Alice. I have a feeling we're going to be great friends."

xxxxx

Jasper ran at an impossible speed through the forest. He was forcing himself away from her, pushing himself to the absolutely limit. He didn't think he'd ever run so fast before now.

It wasn't that her blood was more potent than anyone else's. It wasn't that she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. It was something unexplainable, and all-consuming.  
He wanted to drink her dry, and hold her carcass for the rest of eternity. He wanted to be the one to kill her, and then mourn her death.  
Such conflicting emotions he had never faced before. He needed to leave, to get out of Forks. Maybe until she died of natural causes.

He knew he couldn't stay, the kiss was meant to say goodbye, to release her from his own desires.

She'd been so upset earlier, the feelings had surrounded him, choking him.

In the rain, she was so overcome with stress and confusion and anger. He hadn't meant to go to her, but he couldn't help himself. He needed to stare into her bright green eyes one last time, which were usually so alive and full of joy and mischief, but they had been tear soaked.  
He'd wanted to take her in his arms and soothe her, pour feelings of peace and safety and happiness over her.  
But he couldn't. He couldn't be around her without drowning in his own thirst for her blood.  
He would leave, then. He'd made his decision.  
Alice Brandon would live the most normal human life possible, and he would be alone for the rest of his days.

 **Ahhhhhh, I really hope you like this chapter, because I think I went over if like ten times and just couldn't get it quite right. But, I think overall I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. ALSO, just because he kissed her forehead doesn't mean anything. Still a slow-burn. And Bella and Alice will be getting closer in the next couple of chapter, so that's exciting! AND, I know Alice was pretty emtional in this chapter, but that's not going to be a thing with her, I promise. Just specific to chapter 5. And the dance part with Mike was important for later on, just so ya know. Please read and review!**

 **Thanks!**

 **Olivia**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okie dokie** , **It's been a few weeks, but I finally got this out. I've been really busy with school, so the excuse is valid. Hope you guys like this chapter! I seem to be getting pretty good reviews so that's great! Keep reading and reviewing guys! Enjoy and happy reading!**

Loud, bass-thumping music blared through the speakers in Alice's room. She'd never heard this particular song before and she wasn't sure she care much for it, but it did the trick.

She hopped and spun and whirled around her tiny room. Throwing her arms here and there, shaking her head and hips completely out of sync.

She was forcing herself to be productive when there was nothing else to do. Her homework was done, the bathroom and her room were clean, Charlie was at work, and it was a Saturday.

And Jasper hadn't been in school for nine consecutive days.

 _I'm not counting_. She reminded herself again.

After the events of her last meeting with Jasper, Alice had decided mooning over some random guy, who would rather leave than be around her, would simply not do.

So she'd woken up the next morning, put on her favorite jeans, drove to school and owned the day.

She had laughed and chatted with her friends, ensured Mike she would be going to the dance alone, watched him ask Jessica, and successfully convinced herself she didn't even notice Jasper wasn't in history.

The song was staring to end and Alice slowly made her way over to the speakers, turning them down as she sucked in gasps of air.

She laid on her bed, arms stretched above her head, not even caring she was getting her sweaty, sticky body all over the sheets.

Her breathing regulated and she gradually sat up, reaching for her water bottle and taking a swig. She grasped her phone and dialed the most recently called number. An answering machine picked up, and she waited for the beep.

"Hey, momma, just called to see if you wanted to chat a bit later. I've been pretty busy lately and I miss our girl-talk time. Dad's great, but sometimes I just need a girl. How are you and Phil doing? I'm sure Virginia is great this time of year. Anyways, call me back when you get this. I love you! Bye!"

Alice pulled the phone from her ear and ended the call. She checked the time on her phone.

She made another call:

"Hey, Al, what's up?"

"Hey, dad, sorry for calling you at work, but it's almost 5 now, so do you want me to go ahead and call for takeout? The Szechuan place near the station, off Northumberland Street?"

"Yeah, that'd be fine. I'll swing by on my way home and grab it. I'll probably be there around 6:15 at the latest. Thanks, Al. Don't forget the spring rolls this time."

"Yeah, dad, with the fuss you made last time, I definitely won't."

He laughed at her sarcastic tone before the call ended.

Alice quickly dialed and ordered the food, setting her phone aside afterwards.

She walked around her house, read labels on cereal boxes, got the white sticker residue off the fridge that she'd placed there when she was nine, and all within 10 minutes.

She was just tired of being alone.

Bella had been a great consul that day nearly two weeks before. Alice wasn't stupid enough to talk badly about Jasper to his sister, but Bella had been surprisingly tuned-in to the situation.

"He just isn't sure what he's looking for. I'll bet he just wants to be ready before starting anything with you so that you don't get hurt."

Well, he was gone now. The option of hurting her had been taken away from her entirely and in the process, she'd still been hurt.

Alice was definitely upset because she'd thought they had a connection, but more so because she had caused a boy to actually leave school.

 _Because apparently that's preferable to being around me._

Alice thought with malice.

She rolled her eyes toward her own negative thoughts.

 _There's nothing wrong with me. I did nothing wrong anyway._

Every time her mind flashed to his lips on her forehead, the feeling of his hands on her face, she instantly turned her mind off. She didn't allow herself to think about it for more than a second.

But, despite everything and her emotional breakdown weeks ago, and her loathing to admit she cared more than was normal, Alice was actually alright.

It didn't hurt her to wake up and be alone. To put on her favorite Dare to Dazzle matte lipstick and slip on her high heels.

She liked her friends to a comfortable degree and she and Bella had even become friends of sorts.

That was the kicker, though. She was comfortable, and not so hurt, and able to live.

But, she wasn't really happy. Her laughs weren't quite as loud, and her smiles not nearly as wide.

Alice didn't want to admit to herself whether or not that had to do with Jasper, but she secretly believed that he could inspire those things to come back.

Alice checked the clock on the mantle, Charlie would be home within the next 15 minutes and she'd be comfortably distracted.

She sighed and slumped back into the couch she was curled up on, just as the doorbell rang.

Alice felt as though she'd jumped out of her skin, it had scared the absolutely shit of her.

 _Lord god in heaven..._ She thought as she grabbed her chest and tried to slow her breathing down.

She carefully got off the couch, as if she thought something else might scare her, and made her way to the door.

She wrapped her shall tighter over her waist as she opened the door, fully expecting a blast of rainy cold.

There, standing on her porch, hands behind his back, too tall and perfect to be real, stood Jasper.

They stared at each other for a few moments. Alice could hardly believe he was there. Thirty seconds had probably passed before she reacted without thinking, letting out a high pitch squeak before slamming the door in his face.

She wasn't being rude, not intentionally at least, he was just that the last person she ever expected to see again was standing on her porch.

And he was obviously waiting to speak with her.

 _What if he's here to speak to dad? "Sir, I believe your daughter had serious mental issues and I thought you should know!" Wait... I haven't even done anything to make him think that! I'm not crazy and he doesn't even know about the visions, which are the craziest thing about me! Alice! He's still standing outside numbskull! Open the doooorrr..._

Slowly, she turned back towards the door and opened it. He was still handing there, this time with her hands in his pockets and looking at the sky above him. He gradually brought his face down back to hers, his gold eyes piercing her own green ones.

 _They're gold today… hmmm_

"Uhm, sorry about that. I think I freaked out for a second."

She added a small chuckle at the end, more for her own benefit than his.

"It's alright, Alice. I'm sure you didn't expect me to be standing here when you heard he doorbell."

His faced remained impassive, but something about his eyes made her think he was laughing at her reaction.

"Yeah, it was pretty surprising," she replied dryly.

"How did you know where I lived anyway?" She asked after realizing he had never been to her house before.

"Alice, in a town this small, everyone knows where the chief of police lives."

She nodded.

 _Ohh… that actually makes perfect sense._

Alice looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something more.

 _Why is he even here?_

"Why are you even here?"

 _Idiot! Why tf would you say that?_

"Oh, I apologize. I suppose I had a speech prepared, but I can't seem to remember the words quite as well as I could thirty minutes ago." His perfect eyebrows drew together as if he were thinking, or maybe confused with his thoughts.

 _He prepared a speech? Shit! Call the doctor because I think I'm about to pass out._

"Well, do you remember the premise of the speech?" Alice asked hesitantly, not knowing if she wanted to find out or not.

"Yes, I think I can recall the main points."

He paused, and she waited patiently.

Or not so patiently.

She felt like her skin was going to fall off.

 _Any day now, you stupid, perfect boy. With your stupid hair, and your stupid gold eyes, and your perfect stupid skin, and your stupid good lo-_

"Alice, I want to apologize for my behavior. While unintentional, it has been appalling. No lady deserves that. Also..."

He looked to the side. As if preparing himself for the next part. Alice felt like she would die right there if he didn't continue.

 _Spit it out already! Also what?_

"Also... I think we can be friends, if given time. I find you... Charming."

 _Friends? F*cking friends? Charming?_

She had to regroup her thoughts before speaking.

"Yeah, I think that sounds nice. I'd like that. And thanks. I think you're…er… charming… as well."

His smile was so small it almost seemed unreal, but it was there.

"Well, than friends it is."

He held out his hand and she grasped his with her own.

His was so large it covered hers completely, but it didn't matter.

Just in that handshake, all she had worked for the past few weeks was for not. Alice was completely under his spell, and she knew it.

 _He's handsome, and maybe that's why I like him so much. Maybe it's fleeting infatuation._

"So, do you often show up at the homes of girls that you run away from to apologize then propose friendship?"

They were still holding hands, she realized, and his went absolutely stiff.

 _Sweet Mary, WHY do I always speak my mind? Better question, why of all people, do I literally have word-vomit around him?_

His brow furrowed.

"Alice, I wasn't running from you."

He attempted to pull his hand away, but she gripped harder.

"Then how do you explain leaving for two weeks directly after what I'm fondly referring to as the 'rain incident?'"

Jaspers eyes narrowed in on hers, and then switched to their hands.

He pulled her across the threshold, gently, but full of force.

She had been full of energy and spirit, inquisitive and ready to find out what the heck was going on.

But, next thing she knew, she was pulled closer to him, his hand became stone and his body grew significantly closer. Her nose came to his chest, and he was only inches away.

"What are you trying to accomplish? Do you understand the mistakes you keep making? Of course you don't, but if you don't stop, I _can't_ stop, and then you will know."

"What does that mean? You are the most ambiguous person I know! Why can't you just say what the hell you mean, instead of leaving me to assume all of these things? You know what happens when people are left to their assumptions and guesses? They guess the _worst_ possibilities. So just tell me, I can handle whatever it is. Is it a kid? Do you have a kid? Or a girlfriend? Or some strange auto-immune disease that's easily transferable? And on a side note, the first two are pretty bad, but the second… is really bad… ha-ha."

Her mind ran rampant with the possibilities.

Jasper rolled his eyes at her obviously dramatic behavior,

"Hey!" Alice snapped.

"Don't roll your eyes like any of those are improbable. What am I supposed to think when a guy I barely know says things like, 'If you don't stop, I can't stop,' like it's a warning, and how I keep making 'mistakes.'"

Jasper let go of her hand, and this time she let him,

"I know, Alice, You're right. There are just things you can't know. And can you do me a favor? As a friend?"

 _What the hell… We've been 'friends' for five minutes and he's already calling favors?_

"What?" She asked inquisitively.

"Stop wondering. Don't dig. Just leave it be."

Alice saw the pleading in his eyes. The pure desperation for her to just stop and leave it alone.

"Jasper… is it really that bad? Do you really believe I couldn't handle it?"

He closed his eyes tightly, clenching his jaw.

When he opened them, gold met green, and they both knew the answer.

"No, Alice, I know you could handle it. And I think that's exactly why you can't know."

Alice thought about it for a second.

She folded her arms around herself, attempting to keep the chill of the air out.

"Jasper, if I can handle it there's no point in me not knowing. So, and be honest, could it be that maybe it's _you_ that can't handle it? Maybe, just maybe, you're the one that can't deal with me knowing this apparently awful thing about you?"

His eyes searched hers as they stood apart. She felt so lost in his gaze, but she was grounded. He was a spirit gliding through the air, seeking redemption and safety and home. Alice was the answer he'd been waiting for. She was the heart meant to complete his. And after waiting for this for centuries, after fantasizing what it might be like with someone so right, he couldn't let it happen.

Alice was a clear glass of water, pure and clean. And Jasper was a single drop of blood. If mixed, the water would never be pure again. It would forever hold an ever-so-slight tint of pink.

"Alice, maybe you're right. In fact, you probably are. But, it doesn't matter. We're friends, or we're nothing."

 _Or everything…_

xxxxx

Jasper had left shortly after his last remark, and Alice honestly didn't remember the end of the conversation. Essentially, he had told her they could be friends, but nothing more.

While this may upset some people, Alice was unbearably happy.

 _He's cracking. He doesn't know what he wants, and he's got some weirdo secret he doesn't want me to know, but he said so himself, I can handle it. I just have to find out exactly what it is, and convince Jasper it's okay that I know._

Charlie had returned home mere minutes after Jasper left, and Alice sent a silent 'thank you' to the big guy upstairs. Her dad coming home and spotting Jasper Hale on his doorstep standing inappropriately close to his little girl was not a problem Alice cared to deal with.

The Chinese food had been great though, and they had chatted about all sorts of inconsequential topics. Work and school, mostly. Her dad picked on her height (as usual) and she had fumed (as usual.)

"Just, stop, dad. It wasn't funny 7 years ago, and it's not funny now." She had an angry look on her face, but an amused twinkle in her eye. Charlie could barely contain his laughter.

"They look on your face is worth it everytime… Short!"

"DAD!"

Alice was starting to like the idea of living in forks, and more so in the past few hours. And that thrilled and scared her all at the same time.

 **Thanks Guys!**

 **Olivia**


	7. Chapter 7

**So it's been a few weeks, but here's chapter 7! Hope you guys enjoy! Theres a lot of character relationships here so I'm pretty excited about it. It's also a little bit longer, but not by too much. Sorry for errors grammatical and otherwise (My proofreading skills are atrocious.) Hope you guys love it! Review please! Happy reading! :)**

Monday Morning came quickly and Alice woke up in an especially good mood.

Her eyes fluttered open and an odd smell wafted throughout her room.

 _What the heck?_

She quickly jumped out of her bed, slipped on her robe and slippers and ran downstairs.

The smell got stronger with every step she took towards the kitchen.

"Hey, dad, you in there? Is everything okay?"

Before Charlie had a chance to reply she stepped into the kitchen and finally saw where the smell was coming from.

She made eye contact with Charlie, his cheeks became red, and she struggled to keep her face impassive.

It was becoming harder and harder, she knew she would crack at any moment and her inner thoughts would be revealed.

Her strength gave way and she burst out in laughter. Hard, belly-rolling laughter. She clutched her sides as tears ran down her face.

Next to the counter, which was covered in pancake powder mix, stood Charlie, also covered in the pancake mix.

A plate of dreadful looking pancakes sat on the counter next to him.

"Dad… did you try… to cook… pancakes?" Alice wheezed out in between her spouts of laughter.

"Stop laughing, it's not that funny." Charlie grumbled out, attempting to quickly clean up the mess around him.

"HA-HA… are you kidding me? This is the funniest thing I've seen since that Christmas photo we took a few years ago, when the photographer caught you mid-sneeze."

Charlie froze, "We agreed not to talk about that anymore. Come over here and help me clean this up. The thanks I get for trying to make you breakfast…" Charlie grumbled, turning away from Alice.

She whipped her tear streaked eyes and joined him by the counter, attempting to help him clean up the mess.

The pancakes ended up in the garbage, and Alice pulled out a box of sugary cereal, shaking it in her dad face. "Let's opt for something we both have a chance at cooking."

Charlie growled slightly at her, but couldn't quite hide the amusement in his eyes.

Xxxxx

After breakfast Alice shot upstairs and hopped in the shower. She scrubbed and washed and sang at unbearably high, not the mention deafening, volumes. Then she made her way into her room to choose her outfit.

The weather was, as usual, rainy, but nothing could dampen her mood. She grabbed a dress, rain boots, and a matching rain coat. Alice flew through her makeup and hair, grabbed her backpack and keys.

As she made her way down the stairs her vision darkened and she was struck with flashes of images.

 _"_ _Dad, just leave me alone! I hate it here and I just want to go back home with mom," She looked at him with tear filled eyes and a strong, defiant chin. "Al, we can fix this. Just tell me what happened. Do you really hate it here that much?" Charlie's expression was confused and worried. "I just don't want to be here. I'm sick of pretending like I actually enjoy it. I'm sick of the people in this damn town. I don't belong here dad, I'm leaving." She regretted the words as soon as she said them. Charlies eyes where brimming with tears he wouldn't allow himself to shed. "Well… uhm… If you really feel that way we can get you home, Allie. We can… I'll just arrange for you to…" She cut him off, she couldn't handle his words, and she couldn't let him continue like he actually believed she could really mean all of this. "No, dad, I'm just… I'm just gonna go." She hurried to the couch where her bags where and grabbed them all. Charlie started after her, she wasn't sure if to help her or to stop her. Alice backed up towards the door. "I'm sorry, dad, I just need to go. There's nothing left for me." She hurried out the front door, all the while Charlie calling her name from behind, begging her to stay and talk, asking her to explain what was wrong. Alice didn't even turn around as she got into her car and started the engine, she recklessly pulled out of the driveway, whipping tears from her eyes. She grabbed her phone and called the last number dialed. The other line answered after one ring, "Did you do it?" Alice sniffled, "Yeah, and… Jazz… he'll never forgive me. I broke his damn heart." Alice broke into fits of uncontrollable sobs._

When Alice snapped back into the real world, she was leaning against the railing of the stairs, breathing heavily and trying to get a hold of herself. Her good mood was forgotten and fear had started to creep into her.

 _Was that really a vision? Why would I do that? Why would I say those things? They weren't even true…_

Alice was pulled from her vision by a loud horn coming from her driveway. She checked her phone and realized it was probably Bella there to pick her up for school.

The brunette had offered the Friday before, and Alice had accepted. She genuinely liked Bella and had high hopes for their friendship.

Alice wearily made her way down the rest of the stairs to the front door. She opened it and Bella waved from her shiny red car, Alice shakily waved back before turning around and locking the door.

She walked slowly to the car and got in.

"Good Morning, Alice. How are you?"

"Hey, Bella. Uhm… I'm okay. Just… it's nothing, yeah, I'm fine." Alice offered her a smile, but the other girl crinkled her brows.

"Alice, if somethings bothering you, you can tell me. You can tell me anything."

Alice paused, could she really tell Bella, whom she barely knew, yet felt as close to as she ever had with anybody, her darkest secret?

 _She'll think you're crazy,_ Alice thought to herself. The same thing she though whenever she wanted to tell anyone about it.

She was about to open her mouth, but Bella spoke again. "Alice, please don't lie to me. If you don't want to talk, that's okay. But don't say you're fine, you looked like you'd seen a ghost."

Alice glanced over at the beautiful face next to her, golden eyes that seemed to spear her heart and soul.

Alice drew a deep breath, "Bella… If I tell you, you have to promise me not to say a word to anyone. Not Edward, or Jasper, or anyone. This has to stay between us."

Bella smiled faintly at Alice, "Anything you tell me if in confidence. It's none of their business."

Alice smiled at Bella gratefully. "Thanks."

She paused again. She had never even begun to mention it to anyone, and here she was about to tell a girl she barely knew everything.

She took a deep breath. "Bella, I… I… I sometimes see things."

Bella looked confused, "Uhm, Yes Alice, I see things sometimes as well. Actually more often than not." Bella chuckled quietly at her own joke, but it did nothing to ease Alice's nerves.

"No, Bella, you don't get it. Sometimes… sometimes I see things before they happen."

This made Bella stop. They were still sitting in Alice's driveway and she realized, vaguely, that they were going to be late for school, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"So. You see the future? Like visions?" Bella said emphatically, and a bit too blasé for Alice's taste.

"What do you mean 'You see the future?' I feel like a typical reaction to something like that might be uncontrollable laughter, or even a 'You're out of your freakin' mind,' but not you, Bella. You just take it so casually. What is wrong with you? I'm crazy and you believe me and you're being so freaking nonchalant!" Alice was gasping, realizing her voice had grown noticeably louder as she'd gone on.

Bella smirked at her reaction.

"Look, Alice. This is clearly the first time you've told anyone and that's okay, but you should know that this happens to people. Not specifically seeing the future, but… talents of sorts. Sometimes people can do a little extra than most normal people. It's unique, but it's not so weird. I'm not worried that you can see the future, but I am worried about why you're worried you can see the future. What happened? Did you see something?"

Alice looked at Bella like she was crazy, her mouth hanging open.

"Wait… you believe me… and you don't think I'm crazy? You're like… totally okay with this? You know people with, uhm, abilities beyond the normal?"

Alice looked around at the yard and house around her through the rain soaked windows of the car. Her eyes were still wide and she was trying to piece all of it together.

 _Great, I finally tell someone about my visions and they're just as insane as I am. That's really just perfect. That's fantastic. I mean, we could make a club, 'The Freaks of Forks,' yeah and Jasper can join us, because he's got some apparently weird issue as well. We can just go around and scare the shit out of people. Then we'll get locked up because-_

"Alice? Are you even listening to me?"

Alice looked at Bella, part startled and part guilty.

"Uhm, can you repeat what you just said?"

Bella shook her head, but her face still held a kind look.

"Alice, I know this is weird for you, but honestly, you don't need someone to freak out about this. I think you knew when you told me that I wouldn't freak out. You've been so scared that people will make fun of you, but I'm not going to. It's okay, alright? Everything is just, okay with me."

Alice looked down at her hands, gripped together in her lap.

"I just… I guess I expected to be treated differently and thought of differently. I definitely didn't expect you to act so calm… it was unexpected. I'm sorry I kind of freaked out for a second, you actually acted calmer than me."

Alice chuckled at the end for her own benefit.

"Yeah, it's alright, Alice. I'm your friend."

She smiled at the girl in the driver's seat, "Thanks, Bella."

Bella smiled at Alice, and then promptly raised an eyebrow,

"So, are you going to tell me what's got you so freaked out?"

Alice rolled her eyes, "I was really hoping you had forgotten about that bit."

"Not a chance. And don't tell me you can't talk about it. You just revealed you see the future, all other conversation topics are now on the table."

Alice smirked, but remained impassive.

"It's just… I've been having weird visions lately. I mean, I've had them for a few years now, but recently they've gotten a lot more, well, uncomfortable?"

"Uncomfortable how?"

Alice cleared her throat, "Like, I had a weird vision a few weeks ago, and it seemed pretty bad. I was in the woods somewhere, and it was dark out and there was this man, I'm not sure who, and he kept saying these awful things."

Bella looked concerned, "what kind of things was he saying?"

Alice shrugged, "It makes no sense. He kept saying 'this will only hurt for a second,' and 'you smell so good.' It just made no sense."

She chose to leave the part about her calling for Jasper out of it.

If Bella thought anything was weird about her vision, she didn't let Alice know, she just asked, "Have you had any other weird visions?"

Alice decided she wouldn't mention the vision with Jasper and her in the grass, the one where he'd been so sweet, and then pulled away at the last minute.

"Uh, just one other one. Today, actually. It was probably the worst one. My dad and I were fighting, I guess, and I just said the most awful things to him. I told him I hated it here, and that I wanted to leave. None of which is true, by the way. Then I got in my car and left."

Bella nodded slowly, "That is weird, but because something could happen in the future we don't know about yet, I wouldn't think too much about the last one."

Alice swallowed, and closed her eyes tightly. "Bella, the weird part was that when I got in my car after the fight, I called someone. I called Jasper."

Bella's face showed no change, Alice went on.

"He asked me 'did you do it,' and I said yes, then started crying."

Bella said nothing and Alice felt like she was dying inside,

"Bella, what the heck does that mean? Did I lie to my dad on purpose? Was Jasper part of that lie?"

Bella shook her head slowly, turning towards Alice. She had a sad expression on her face.

"I really don't know, Alice. I've got no idea what any of it means."

She turned forward and started the car, Alice huffed in her seat and sat back, watching the rain roll down the windows. A sort of dread settled in her stomach.

 _What the hell is going on?_

Xxxxx

They reached the school almost an hour late. Alice and Bella quickly said goodbyes and headed in separate directions. The second class of the day had started and Alice got a late slip from the office, and headed to her Spanish class. She walked in during the middle of the lecture and sat down, red-faced, between Angela and Jessica. They girls smiled in Alice's direction and Alice obligingly smiled back.

If there was this huge part of her that was stressed out and worried about the future, she didn't have to worry about it right now. No one but Bella knew about her situation, and because of that she could ignore it around her other friends.

 _No one needs to know anything is wrong._

Xxxxx

The next class of the day flew by and before she knew it, it was lunch time.

Alice had decided to adopt her previous happy demeanor and forget about her troubles, at least for a day.

 _I'll worry about all that crap later._ She thought with a ruffle of her hair.

She walked confidently into the lunch room, and her eyes immediately searched for the Cullens. They were already situated at their table, their food untouched as usual. Bella looked over at her and smiled, waving slightly. Alice smiled back, surprised she wasn't nervous about their earlier conversation or feeling any regrets.

Her eyes met Edwards next, who nodded towards her, as much of a greeting as she'd ever gotten from him.

Rosalie was after him, her eyes were wild and unbelievably beautiful. Her haughty air only growing as she tilted her chin up to Alice, raising and eyebrow before looking away.

Alice brushed off the cold chill that ran up her spine.

 _Great, Rosalie hates my guts and I've never even spoken a single word to her._

Emmett was staring at Rosalie, completely unaware of the world around him.

Her eyes landed next on Jasper, who was already looking at her.

He wasn't smiling, but he had an almost friendly expression on his face. Really, it was more a look of amused curiosity, like he was wondering what she was thinking.

Alice smiled brightly at him. She wouldn't say their last conversation ended on very good terms, but she was happy that he'd decided to be friends with her.

His expression remained the same, however, his lip quirked up in the corner.

It drew her eyes there and she was staring at his perfect mouth.

 _God, those lips…_

"Alice, you coming?"

It was Mike, and he was gesturing towards their lunch table. All her friends were already sitting down with their food, waiting for her.

Alice brushed off her embarrassment, and sat down smiling at them.

"So, are you like, friends with the Cullen's now?" Jessica asked. Not unkindly, but not without a hint of bitterness.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

The rest of the table seemed to pick up on her obliviousness to how they thought it was odd.

The rest of lunch consisted of eager talk about the upcoming homecoming dance, which was just two short weeks away.

Alice learned that Mike had asked Jessica, and (surprise, surprise,) she'd said yes. Angela and Erica where going together and she didn't hear who Lauren was going with, but she didn't really care. Alice and Lauren hadn't really gotten off to a great start, but they tolerated each other, for now.

"So, Alice, have you decided if you're going to the dance, yet?" This from Angela, who was so genuine in her friendship towards Alice that Alice couldn't help but smile.

"Uhm, I haven't decided yet. I don't even have a dress."

Angela and Jessica immediately starting trying to talk her into going.

The thought of it wasn't all the unappealing to Alice, even going alone would be fun. She had never minded being a third wheel, or in this case, a sixth one.

"Maybe I'll go. It could be fun, but that's not a yes!"

She added the last part as soon as she saw Jessica and Angela's growing excitement.

Lunch ended soon after and before she knew it, the last class of the day was next. Alice breathed slowly as she made her way to history. Jasper would be there, and this would be their first interaction after the big 'talk,' as Alice was now referring to it.

She stepped inside and made her way to the back, where Jasper was already sitting.

She sat down next to him, not missing how completely amazing he smelled.

"Afternoon, Alice." He spoke first, in his delicious southern twang.

Alice felt a shiver move up her spine. "Hey, Jasper."

They exchanged pleasantries and conversation which ended as the lecture began.

Alice was completely aware of him, but she didn't know what to say, or even if she should say anything.

Finally, Alice said thefirst thing that came to her mind,

"So, are you going to the homecoming dance next Friday?"

 _Ugh, damn you Alice…_

Jasper looked down at her with a smirk, "It's not really my scene."

Alice refused to look dejected. "Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to go together, not as a couple obviously, but as two people who don't have a date. Like friends. Not that you couldn't get a date, but, you know."

She managed to stop herself from talking further. She'd already done enough damage.

Jasper chuckled at her, but remained silent.

She had never felt so awkward in her entire life.

Like, utterly, completely, and foolishly awkward.

She twiddled her pen in her hand, and combed her fingers through the hair, trying to look careless, but failing miserably.

"I won't go to the dance. Like I said before, not my scene. However, if you're in need of a friends company, you can come with me to Seattle that day."

Alice froze, sure she hadn't hear correctly. "Wait, you're asking me to go to Seattle with you?"

Jasper looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Yes, Alice, that is what I just said."

"What's in Seattle?"

Jasper chuckled, "Business. But that will only take me a couple of hours, the rest of the day could be spent dong whatever we like."

She was well and good in shock. This was, to date, the most shocking thing to happen.

"Uhm, you're going next Friday? You'd just completely skip school? And what eighteen year old person has business to attend to?"

He looked down at her small frame again, "What's wrong, little lady? Can't skip school for a single day?" he'd completely dodged the second part of her question.

Alice straightened her shoulders indignantly, "Yes I can!" She spoke a little too loud, receiving a glare from her teacher. She smiled guiltily at him and mouth an apology.

Beside her, without looking, Jasper muttered so quietly she barely heard him,

"I'll pick you up at eight."

 **Thanks,**

 **Olivia**


	8. AN

**Hey guys!** **This isn't an update, but I'm working on one right now and I'm going to try to have it uploaded by tomorrow around noonish. I just wanted to clear up anything that I may have contradicted in the story.**

 **Bella's last name is Hale, so her and Jasper and Rosalie are "related." Obviously she can't have the same last name as Edward, so I just made it the same as Jasper and Rosalie.**

 **Also, if there's anything else that you guys catch, mistakes or otherwise, please let me know!**

 **I'm trying to make this next chapter at least 5,000 words+, so a lot of stuff is going to be happening, but I don't want it to seem rushed.**

 **Thanks so much for all of your support! You guys are so awesome!**

 **Olivia**


	9. Chapter 8

**Okay guys, I give you chapter 8! this is pretty long and I edited everything I could catch, I'm mostly just worried about not having italicized all of Alice's thoughts, but I really hope I got them all. thanks for everything and all the support. Love you all! Enjoy and happy reading!**

 _I'm going to Seattle with Jasper next Friday._

 _I'm going to Seattle with Jasper next Friday._

 _I'm going to Seattle with Jasper next Friday._

The same words kept playing in her mind, her thoughts running in the same direction over and over again, yet she could hardly believe it.

He was like a light switch. Sometimes he was on and sometimes he was off. One day he'd ignore her and the next he was calling them friends.

Alice couldn't make sense of it all, but she had decided to just go with it.

Sometimes after school had ended that day, she had received a phone call from Jessica, asking whether or not she had decided to go to the dance

"I did think about it for a little bit, but I'm actually going to Seattle that day. I've got some errands to run and... Just some shopping I'm going to try and catch up on."

Alice really had no idea what her and Jasper would be doing, but since she was of the firm belief that telling Jessica she was going to be with Jasper that day was a terrible idea, she went with what was probably a lie.

"Oh, we were so hoping you'd be going. That stinks! But if you want, Angela and I are going to Port Angeles this weekend to get dresses. I know, we're so late, but we'd love if you came!"

Alice could hear Angela's voice of agreement in the background.

Alice smiled, what she definitely needed was a girl's day. No boys, no Jasper, no teachers, no school.

"Yes! I think that'd be great! We'll find the perfect dresses for you guys!"

A thought stuck Alice, and she continued.

"Hey, I'm not sure how you guys would feel about this, and it's not like I've asked her, but would you two mind if I invited Bella?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line and Alice waited nervously, barely refraining from chewing on her thumb nail.

Jessica spoke suddenly,

"Like, Bella Hale?"

Alice laughed nervously.

"Uh, yeah. She's really cool. I think you guys would like her if you got to know her."

Another pause, "well, I didn't realize you guys were that close, but if she wants to come she's more than welcome."

Alice wasn't completely sure how genuine that response seemed, but she just knew that Jessica and Angela would love Bella if they got the chance to get to know her.

"Great! I'll ask her if she wants to come and let you guys know! Regardless, I'll go with you on Saturday!"

"Awesome! See you tomorrow Alice!" She heard Angela yell, she must have been on speaker phone.

Alice laughed loudly,

"Alright, guys, have a good night."

After the call, Alice rung Bella. She had never called Bella before and for some reason she was a little nervous. Not bad nervous, but excited.

"Hello, Alice."

Alice swallowed, not sure why she was so surprised by Bella's formal greeting. The Cullen's were all that way. So formal and polite.

"Hey, Bella. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks. How are you doing?"

She heard Bella's voice get lower,

"Anymore weird visions."

"Uh, nope, none to speak of."

She didn't regret telling Bella, but she really didn't want to talk about her visions at the moment.

"I was actually just calling to see if you wanted to go to Port Angeles this Saturday with me. Well, really me and Angela and Jessica, sort of a girls day. It'd be so fun if you came!"

Bella didn't speak for a moment and when she finally did, Alice could practically see the smirk on her face.

"Do Angela and Jessica want me to go?"

Alice waved her hand through the air, even though Bella couldn't see her, "what? Yes, they were so excited when I asked them if you could come. You should have heard them, they can't wait to get to know you better."

There was a silence between them, she knew Bella must know she was exaggerating a bit, but she really did think it was a great idea.

"This Saturday you said?"

"Yes! I'm not sure when we'd be leaving, I forgot to ask, but I think we're going to get dinner."

She heard Bella laugh on the other end of the line. "Yeah, that sounds nice, I'll be there."

Alice practically jumped out of her skin she was so ecstatic.

"Oh, yes! We're going to have the best day, I just know it!"

They hung up shortly after and Alice couldn't stop smiling. Things just seemed to be working out.

Jasper was warming up to her, and they were going on a "friend date" as she'd taken to calling it in her mind.

She was going to have a great day on Saturday, just hanging out with the girls.

 _Maybe I'll even talk them into getting pedicures!_

 _The_ possibilities swarmed around in her mind.

"Hey, short, you home?" Alice heard Charlie call from the kitchen entrance.

She hadn't thought about the vision from earlier that day since her talk with Bella and now that her dad was home, her mind forced her to confront it.

The moments of complete peace and happiness never seem to last.

"Yeah dad, I'm in the living room," she called back weakly.

There was no scenario she could come up with that would lead to the conversation she and Charlie had in her vision.

 _It just makes no sense._

 _Why would I lie to him? Why would I call Jasper after?_

She turned back to her dad, realizing he had said something.

"What?"

"You okay, Al? You kinda zoned out for a second there."

Alice smiled, small and timid.

"Dad?"

Charlie frowned, it wasn't like Alice to be so quiet and reserved and to look so sad.

"What's wrong, are you okay? Did someone hurt-,"

"No, dad, nothing happened. It's okay. But... I just want you to know that I love you. And no matter what, I'll always be your little girl."

Charlie stood a few feet away from where she was sitting, awkwardly tapping his right hand against his left fist.

"Uh, yeah, I love you too, Al..."

Alice laughed at his apparent discomfort and jumped up to give him a hug. It was quick and hardly reciprocated, but she squeezed tight nevertheless.

When she pulled away she could almost hear his sigh of relief.

They stood there just staring at each other until Alice spoke again.

"Hey, are there any of those games you like to watch on? Ya know, basketball or baseball or whatever. We can watch one together."

Charlie paused, Alice never asked about sports, and she never wanted to watch them together.

"You sure you're okay, short?"

Alice rolled her eyes, "yes, I'm fine."

She collapsed onto the couch and held the remote out to Charlie, "just pick something."

He got the hint, took the remote, and turn on the television. He knew she hated sports, and as he sat down next to his girl, he handed the remote back to her.

"You pick."

Alice looked at his outstretched hand and grasped the device offered to her.

"You shouldn't have said that," she sang in a teasing voice.

Charlie stretched his arm along the back of the couch and Alice relaxed next to her dad.

She flipped the channel until she got to a specific program and then settled.

"So, what is this?"

"Dad, it's only the greatest show ever! These two brothers drive around the country and kill supernatural creatures! They have an angel best friend and a love/hate relationship with the king of hell..."

Charlie stopped listening, but let her continue, content that things, at least for the moment, were working out.

xxxxx

As Alice climbed into bed that night she was filled with such conflicting emotions.

Happy for the good in her life, and confused by everything else.

The idea of hurting her dad was too hard to think about.

 _I can't talk to anyone because no one even knows anything, even me. What good are visions if they don't help solve problems?_

Alice pulled the covers up to her chin, feeling like crawling into a shell and hiding from the future.

xxxxx

The rest of the week passed uneventfully, Jasper was his usual self, quiet and polite. She hadn't spoken to Bella more than a few sentences and with the constant chatter of Angela and Jessica it was easy to forget about her visions and take her mind off her excitement for the following Friday.

"Hey, Alice. We're going to La Push beach tonight for a bonfire the locals have every couple of months if you wanna go."

Alice glanced up at Eric, who appeared to be the one to have spoken.

She glanced around her at the students milling around the parking lot, heading to their cars to go home. Her friends were looking at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

"That actually works perfect, because my dad's going out-of-town on a fishing trip and so I'll be alone tonight anyway."

Angela and Jessica seemed pleased, as did Mike, who wasn't as good at hiding his excitement.

"Great! I can pick you up and drive you over to my parent's store where we're meeting."

Alice could almost see the steam coming out of Jessica's ears.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid..._

"Uh, that's okay Mike, I'll just drive over there and meet you guys. What time?"

Xxxxx

By seven Alice was in her car, on her way over to mikes parents store. Despite the cloudy sky, it hadn't rained since that morning, but it was still fairly cold out and Alice knew it would only get colder.

She had put on a warm parka (an extremely cute, warm parka) and jeans with warm socks.

Alice had called Charlie after she'd gotten home, telling him her plans to head to the reservation that night. He'd been surprisingly calm about it and had even told her to have fun, and that's just what she planned to do.

As she pulled into the parking lot of the store, she noted all of her friends were already piled in Tyler's van, ready to go and waiting for her.

She hurried out of her little car and ran over to them as Tyler blared the horn teasingly, causing raucous laughter from all of her friends. She had a good feeling about the night.

Xxxxx

As they arrived at the beach, Alice noticed all of the people already walking around. Most of them clearly lived on the reservation as she didn't recognized the kids around her age from school, that and they all had the same beautiful, russet skin and black hair.

She did happen to spot a few people from town and from her school that she recognized, which calmed her nerves about intruding on the locals bonfire.

As they parked and got out of the van she realized they must have done this before, her friends. They were all laughing and taking their shoes off, getting ready to walk on the sand barefoot despite the dropping temperature. Alice did the same, taking her first step onto the cold sand and squishing it between her toes.

"Alice, let's go! They're gonna eat all the food!" She looked up and realized all her friends had taken off, running towards the tables and tables and tables of food lined up along the perimeter of the bonfire, which was already blazing and high in the sky.

Alice laughed as she followed them, her short legs taking her much longer to reach the tables.

Ten minutes later their plates were piled high, their cups filled with different sodas, and they were sitting on a few blankets Mike had thought to bring.

Alice looked around her at the people surrounding her and realized she hadn't had so much fun in a long time, even if she'd only been there a short period of time.

The locals were all laughing, and for the most part, up 'till then, hadn't interacted much with her or the other. But as they finished their food and threw their plates away in one of the many trashcans hanging around, a drum started beating.

 _Bum, Bum, Bum…_

It was steady and rhythmic, seeming to match the beat of Alice's own heart. Suddenly a group of beautiful women started to dance. To Alice, it looked to be a traditional dance of some kind. Their shadows fell over the enchanted faces of onlookers and they swayed to the beat of the drum. A flute of some kind had started to play, only adding to the beauty of the dancers.

Alice looked around her and all the people she could see had similar looks of wonder and star struck expressions on their faces. They were admiring the dancers, completely transfixed with their smooth movements.

With a final, loud beat of the drum the dancers ended their enchantment and instead of clapping, everyone cheered loudly. Raising cups filled with amber liquid before taking deep gulps, letting some of it dribble down their chins.

She was in wonderment of these people, their fires, their food, their dancing, and their people.

"Alice, we're going to play ultimate Frisbee. You coming?"

Usually, Alice was okay with playing sports and she even enjoyed them most of the time. But in sports like ultimate Frisbee, when nearly everyone was at least half a foot taller than her, she chose to stay on the sidelines.

"Uhm, that's okay, you guys go ahead. I'll just watch!"

She planted herself on a blanket she had dragged over to get a closer look. Eric, mike, Jessica, Angela, and Tyler had all decided to play, leaving Alice alone, which she didn't really mind.

"Hey, I don't think I've seen you around before."

Alice glanced up at the face of a boy a few feet away. His russet skin was illuminated by the fire light.

"Uh, yeah, I live in town. Moved here a few months ago to live with my dad."

"Oh, that explains it. I don't go into town much, but I usually recognize most people. Not a lot of newcomers."

Alice smiled, 'It's all the rain."

The boy, who appeared to be a few years younger than Alice, laughed loudly.

"You're probably right. Damn clouds just don't relent."

Alice extended her hand up to the boy, "I'm Alice."

"It's nice to meet you Alice." He shook her hand, "I'm Jacob."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

A comfortable silence enveloped them as he sat down next to her. "Didn't want to play Frisbee?" Alice asked.

"Well, I was going to, but I happened to look over and see a girl sitting alone. Figured I'd go talk to her."

Alice chuckled at his joke, "Well, I'm sure she's grateful."

They continued to chat for a few minutes. Making insignificant conversation, when suddenly Mike, who had been running quickly towards them, leapt through the air and caught a Frisbee. He rolled through the sand and finally got up, laughing.

He glanced over at Alice and Jacob. He seemed to look jealous for s moment, but after sizing up Jacob and taking note of his youth, gave a friendly smile.

"Hey, man, I'm Mike."

"Hey, it's Jacob." They fist bumped, as Jacob was on the ground and mike was standing.

"You all good here, Alice?"

"Yeah, Mike, thanks. We're just talking." She smiled at him, but hoped the message was clear.

She wasn't his to worry about.

"Well, I'm glad. I thought for sure you'd invite Bella, since I know you invited her to go with you and Jess and Angela tomorrow, but you didn't so it's good you're not lonely."

There was zero hostility in his voice, and nothing that gave him away as being malicious in his intent, so Alice just smiled at him.

"Yeah, I just didn't think to ask her I guess. Decided I just wanted to hang with you guys tonight."

Only Alice had thought about inviting Bella, but decided not to at the last moment.

"It was good meeting you, man." Mike waved with the Frisbee as he turned, threw it towards a local boy, and ran in that direction.

Jacob had simply waved after mike, his attention turning back to Alice.

"Did he say Bella? As in Isabella Hale?" Jacobs's eyes searched hers questioningly and Alice smirked curiously.

"Yeah, do you know her?"

"I've heard about the Cullen's, but I've never met them, they're not supposed to come down here, or something like that."

Alice drew back, but Jacob didn't seem to notice.

 _What a weird thing to say._

"Wait... What does that mean?"

Jacob glanced at her, look a little guilty.

"What does what mean?"

Alice rolled her eyes,

"Don't play that game. You said they aren't supposed to come here. That's not exactly a normal thing to say. So, explain. Why aren't they allowed?"

Jacob looks at the ground, his finger tracing a pattern into the sand a few feet in front of them.

"It's nothing, really. Just the stuff of old legend from members of the res that are probably just as old. I don't even believe it anyway. It's kind of crazy. Don't worry about it."

Alice wasn't prepared to let this go, and she realized she might need to change tactics.

She bumped her shoulder against his, giggling.

"C'mon. I love legends and stuff like that. It can't be true, so just go ahead and tell me. Sounds like a fun story."

Jacob looked sideways at her, seeming to think through before giving in.

"Yeah... Yeah, okay. Well, it's like this. Our people have been here for centuries. We've always lived on the reservation, and when the white men came to the area, their exchanges were peaceful. They helped each over.

"I don't know exactly the entire story, but at some point a family came to the area, and locals were going missing. The family was blamed for it, and members of the reservation set out to catch the family. I know there was a lot of bloodshed, and a treaty was made: the Cullen's aren't supposed to come to the reservation."

"Wait, but you said that was like centuries ago. How come the treaty is still viable? Why not just get rid of it?"

Jacob ran a hand through his hair,

"You know, I'm really not supposed to tell anyone this."

"It's okay, who am I gonna tell? It's not like it's a big deal. I mean, so they've got murderers for ancestors, what's the big deal?"

Alice thought for a moment, her brow creasing.

"Wait... If the Cullen's are adopted... None of this makes sense."

Jacob sighed, "You're getting way too deep."

"You can't stop now. Just keep going."

She wasn't even sweet anymore, she needed to know the rest.

"Alright, fine. I've already told you this much, might as well."

He took a deep breath.

"They weren't just murderers... They were, according the legends, demons. They didn't just kill the locals, they fed on them. They were what we presently call vampires."

Alice paused, and broke out into hysterical laughter.

"What did you just say to me?"

"I told you it's crazy, I don't even believe it. So basically, the members of the reservation hunted them down and a treaty was made, they don't come here and we don't bother them. Pretty simple."

Alice had started to calm down from her hysterical laughter. Her face grew serious, something about all of this was hitting her more seriously now that shed thought about it.

 _This can't be true, but what is the truth? They have a secret, or at least Jasper does, and he won't tell me. They aren't allowed on the reservation, but how can that be true, unless the story is, as well?_

"So... How do you explain their adoption? And he fact that they're all so young?"

Jacob smirked sideways at her, "you'll love this next part. They haven't changed, and the treaty is still in effect, because their ancestors aren't their ancestors. 'They' are them..."

After a dramatic pause Jacob burst into laughter, clutching his sides at how ridiculous it all was.

Alice played along, but she felt a pang in her chest, something felt off. Like maybe, just maybe, there was some truth to all of this.

"You think about it too much, it's really all just stories and legends. It's silly."

Alice smiled at him, a look of false agreement on her face. "Of course, I'd be crazy to think it was true."

But the legends collided with her visions and the mystery surrounding it all.

 _Could it be true? Could they really be...?_

Alice shook her head and took a sip of her Cola. It was getting chilly and late, the reservation had quieted down and most of the people still around had taken to sitting on the ground, huddled together and relaxing.

Alice looked up as her friends made their way over to her and Jacob.

"Hey, we were thinking about heading back. You ready?"

Alice smiled up at Angela, "yeah, we were just talking. Plus, I'm getting tired."

Alice stood as did Jacob. They began to shake out and fold the blankets surrounding them.

"Thanks for keeping me company, I really appreciate it."

Jacob smiled at her, "it's no big deal, I'm happy to keep pretty girls company."

Alice chuckled at his puppy-dog like manners. He was a sweet kid.

"I'll see you around, thanks again for telling me all about the legends, that stuff is pretty interesting."

Jacob rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, total BS, but I'm not really supposed to talk about it, so try not to tell people I told you."

Alice smiled sincerely.

"Yeah, of course, my lips are sealed."

They exchanged simple goodbyes before Alice headed over to the van, where her friends were almost done packing and getting ready to head back.

"Who was that? He seemed cute."

Coming from Jessica, with a wink.

Alice yawned, but still managed a laugh,

"He's like 14, I'm definitely not interested, but he was nice."

"I'm just sayin..."

Came Jessica's reply as they all piled into the van.

xxxxx

The ride back to mikes parents store was quiet, filled with Eric's low snores, yawns and sleepy eyes. Alice was exhausted, yet wide awake. She couldn't stop thinking about what Jacob had told her.

Logically, she knew it was crazy. There was no way the Cullen's were vampire... And yet, it made sense. It better explained her visions, or at least the first two, the third was still a mystery.

It explained why Jasper was so reluctant to be around her.

 _How am I even still thinking about it? Considering it? I'm not crazy... Well, maybe a little, but I'm not irrational. It's just... It's madness._

Yet deep down, in her heart, it made as much sense as it didn't.

There were unanswered questions that she now had an answer for, or at least as close to one as she'd come so far.

 _But do I really believed all of this? I've never believed in this stuff before... But, I have visions, don't I? And Bella did say some people have abilities beyond that of normal people... Is this what she was talking about_?

xxxxx

After arriving back at Mike's parent's store, Alice drove home. The drive was even quieter than in the van and have her ample time to think.

She knew she'd see Bella tomorrow, and she wasn't sure if that would be weird or not.

She didn't know if she could be around Bella, act normal, fun even, and on the inside be thinking continuously about all this nonsense.

God, I can't even say the word. I literally cannot force myself to say it.

Every time she thought the word, it seemed more and more impossible, and each time she thought it, it became more and more likely.

She had no idea what she believed at this point, but a bigger issue was pressing her mind.

 _How he hell am I going to figure it out?_

xxxx

When Alice's alarm rang the next morning at seven for her to wake up for the girls day, her eyes were glazed and her head hurt.

She felt awful. But, she wouldn't bail.

Alice hauled herself out of bed and made her way to the shower, grabbing her towel on the way.

She went through the motions of getting ready in a haze, only half paying attention to the tasks. Her phone beeped and she looked at a text she'd just received from Jessica:

 **Hey, Angela and I will be at your house in like 10 min! See ya soon**

Alice stifled a yawn as she sent Bella a text.

 **Hey, just letting you know that Angela and Jess are in their way and should be here in like 10 minutes, so we'll leave when you get here.**

Then, she dialed Charlie's number, but wasn't surprised to find she got his voice mail.

The phone beeped and she spoke.

"Hey, dad. I'm just calling to let you know Jessica and Angela should be picking me up soon. We'll probably be gone most of the day, so I'll just text you when I get home. Remember, all you have to do is swipe right on the message alert and t should take you directly to the message, and then you can respond. Hope you have a good day fishing, bye dad. Love you!"

Alice pressed send just as the doorbell downstairs rang.

She grabbed her purse, checked for her wallet, and hooked her fingers into the rubber loops on her rain boots. It was raining fairly hard at the moment and she figured she'd need them.

Alice swept down the stairs, grabbed a granola bar, and made her way to the front door. She opened it, expecting to see Jess and Angela, but before her, beautiful as always, stood Bella.

"Hey, Alice. You mentioned that Jessica and Angela would be here sooner, so I stepped on it."

Alice still hadn't figured out how she would respond to Bella when she saw her, but the idea of Bella saying something as informal as "step on it" made Alice start laughing.

Low at first, but eventually growing louder and louder, until she was clutching her sides.

"Was it something I said?"

This only made her laugh harder. She wasn't sure why, but she just count stop.

Suddenly, a louder horn blared from the road. Alice and Bella turned to find Jessica waving from the driver's seat of a white Honda, then gesturing for them to 'come on.'

Alice sobered up enough to slip her boots on, grab her keys, and lock the door before saying "let's go" to Bella. And then they were in Jessica's car on their way to Port Angeles.

Xxxx

"Jess, I love you, but yellow really isn't your color. The dress fits great, but the yellows gotta go."

Alice had promised to be as honest as possible with them while they tried on their dresses. Angela had tried on several, and was stuck between which she wanted. A blue strapless with silver beads, or an emerald chiffon sweetheart top dress.

Jessica, on the other hand, had tried on at least 45 different dresses, and none of them were "the one."

Alice's fashion sense was impeccable, and she had picked out numerous dresses that had looked great on Jessica, but they all had at least one problem.

"This ones too long."

"This ones too short."

"What kind of material is this? Tin foil?"

"No."

The list went on and on. Alice was sure at this point they wouldn't find anything.

Bella had been a god-send and a great idea. She and Edward weren't going to the dance, so she spent the whole day searching for the perfect dress for Jessica.

Blues, reds, greens, purple, cheetah... They tried every color and every fabric imaginable. And still, none prevailed.

Finally, three shops, three coffees, three restroom stops, and a million sighs later, Jessica stood in front of a wall of mirrors. She was wearing a red halter dress, empire wasted, silky, and absolutely beautiful.

They could tell she was looking for one thing, anything to be wrong with it.

 _She's very good at that._

Alice decided.

Just as Jessica had apparently found her problem with the dress, Bella spoke up.

"Really Jessica, I can't imagine anyone wearing something so fitting to their personality. It looks beautiful. Plus, the low-cut top does wonders for your cleavage."

Jessica looked at Bella, really looked, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. All it had taken were a couple of kind words from gorgeous Bella Hale and for the rest of the day, Jessica wouldn't shut up about how perfect the dress was for her.

The day passed quickly after that, running to a few different shops in a local strip mall in search of shoes and jewelry.

Alice checked her phone and realized it was almost five in the evening, probably time for them to start thinking about getting dinner.

"What are you guys thinking in terms of what you wanna eat for dinner?"

Angela responded quickly and confidently,

"We have to go to Castiglias! It's this fantastic Italian restaurant a few miles up the road. Their food is to die for!"

Alice's confirmation was a loudly grumbling stomach, which caused all the girls to laugh loudly.

As they made their way to Jessica's car, Alice noticed Bella was oddly quiet. She didn't say much in general, but she hadn't said a word since they had decided upon a restaurant.

Alice fell behind to talk to her.

"Hey, you feeling alright?"

Bella looked at Alice gratefully. "Actually, my stomach is feeling a bit weird. I might come in with you all, but I'm not sure I'll order anything."

 _She's not eating. Is it because she doesn't eat food?_

Immediately Alice shook the thought away. Now was not the time.

"Oh... Okay. Do you need anything?"

Bella smiled appreciatively,

"Thanks, Alice, you're a good friend. But I think I'll be okay."

Alice smiled back, and they both got into the back of the car.

Xxxxx

As soon as they got to the restaurant, they went inside and were seated almost immediately.

"We're so lucky," Angela whispered.

"Usually they're packed with people and sometimes it takes like twenty minutes before you can get a table."

Alice was more than pleased with the slow business at the moment.

The smell of fresh bread, garlic, and rich sauces filled her nose and made her mouth water.

"I'm so starving, I could probably eat them out of business."

Jessica snorted, "Yeah, right, Alice. Like your tiny body could hold much food."

"I think you'd be surprised. When I'm hungry, I can definitely eat."

Echoes of agreement met her as they ordered their drinks and made last-minute decisions on their entrees. Bella, like she had said, wasn't planning to order any food, but she had ordered a glass of water.

 _The hardly counts for anything. If I didn't need to eat or drink normal food, but I wanted to fit in, I'd definitely go with water... Ugh, Alice, you don't even know if they can eat regular food or not, stop assuming._

 _..._

 _Actually. Just stop thinking about what they may or may not be. What they probably aren't, because you're a logical person and... And... Oh good, here comes the bread._

"Alright ladies, here is some complimentary bread for you, and here's some butter. This one is garlic and herb butter, this is honey butter, and this one is regular. Do you have any questions about the menu?"

Jessica began asking a questions about a substitution for red sauce instead of Alfredo, when a loud crash sounded from behind them.

Alice immediately turned in her seat and spotted two waiters on the ground, who most likely ran into each other. One of them was already attempting to stand up, but the other was just sitting not the ground, and he appeared to be inspecting his hand.

"Uh, if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go help them."

They didn't respond as their waitress rushed over to the waiter still on the floor. She took a look at his hand and Alice saw a stream of blood rushing down his forearm, and a piece of glass stuck deep into the palm of his hand.

"Ugh, how unprofessional," Muttered Jessica, but Alice's attention had, once again, shifted.

She looked to her left, towards Bella, who was staring intently at the man's bloody hand.

Alice swallowed. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next. She knew she may overreact, maybe it was the feeling in the pit of her stomach, or maybe she was getting some vision of some kind, but instead of images, it was a feeling thing. Regardless, she knew she had to try and stop whatever might be about to happen.

"Bella."

She said her name once, low and confident.

Slowly. So slowly it was painful to watch, Bella turned towards Alice. Their eyes locked, and in that moment, she knew. She didn't need clarification or any more answers.

Bella was... She was...

 _Bella's a friend._

The thought struck Alice's mind like a violent slap. She blinked once.

"Leave."

Bella made no movement nor did she answer. She just a sat there, still staring at Alice. She was still as a statue.

Alice cleared her throat.

"Guys, just excuse us. I think Bella needs to go to the bathroom and I'm just gonna go with her."

She immediately stood up and grabbed Bella's arm.

It was hard as stone and Alice knew she couldn't make the other girl budge an inch, but she didn't need to.

Bella stood up quickly, and immediately made her way towards an emergency exit door that lead to an alley behind the restaurant.

Alice didn't hesitate to follow her.

She barely heard Angela call out that the bathrooms were in the opposite direction before she was in a dark, secluded alley that stretched on in both directions at least a hundred feet.

"Bella? Are you out here? It's okay, it's just Alice. Bella? Where are you?"

She couldn't see the other girl, but to be fair, she couldn't see anything very clearly.

She called out to Bella a few times before giving up and pulling her cellphone out. She dialed Bella's number and held her phone up to her ear.

The phone rang a few times before, only a few feet behind her, she heard a cell phone ringing.

Alice slowly turned, and found herself staring at Bella, who was clutching her sides, her face bent towards he ground.

Alice lowered her cell phone before ending the call and putting it back in her pocket.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

She was met with silence.

Slowly, Alice stepped towards her and reached out a hand. She carefully placed it on Bella's arm.

"Hey, Bella, did you hear me?"

Finally, Bella met Alice's gaze.

"Alice. I'm... I'm fine... I just... He got cut, I thought it was okay, but then... You know... What do you know?"

Bella looked at her intently with sharp, accusing eyes.

Alice took a deep breath. She wasn't sure how she could possibly explain this. There was still a very good chance it was all a big misunderstanding and she'd talk to Bella and they'd laugh at how stupid she'd been.

But, she knew that probably wouldn't happen. This was the real deal, and this was happening.

As she opened her mouth to respond, a man stepped into the alley they were in, and he'd come out of the same door as them.

He was holding a bandaged hand and a cell phone in the other, and he was talking to someone on the other end.

"-yeah, I'm just going to head over to the hospital. It's a clean cut so I'm sure they'll put a few stitches. I didn't want an ambulance or anything, those bills are too much, man."

Alice stopped listening, and turned back to face Bella, whose eyes were now glued, once again, to the man's bandaged hand.

"Bella, Bella... Look at me... Bella, ow!"

Bella had grasped Alice's hand and removed it from her arm.

Alice cradled her hand which she was sure was fine, but ached nonetheless.

Before she even blinked, Bella had rushed over to the man and pinned him against the building.

She threw his phone to the ground and stomped on it once, crushing it into nothing.

Alice was panicking, she wanted to go home and be in her bed. She wanted to run away, be anywhere but here. She wasn't strong, she wasn't fast, she wasn't even normal sized. She was tiny and weak.

Her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't speak or even make a squeak, her feet were rooted to the spot.

 _Oh, God. Oh, God, I'm about to watch a man be killed, and by my own friend. This cannot happen, dear god. This cannot happen, this cannot happen, this cannot happen..._

She kept repeating that to herself as she watched Bella's silhouette holding the struggling man to the wall. She hadn't made a move yet, but she wasn't backing down. It was like she was having an internal fight with herself.

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind Alice. As she went to turn, she barely glimpsed a talk figure approach unbelievably fast. It stopped next to her and sidestepped in front of her, effectively putting her behind them.

She glanced at the back of what was obviously a man's head. It had dark blonde curls and it was longish.

 _I know those curls..._

It was Jasper. Jasper was there, and he was standing in front of her, and he was trying to talk Bella out of what she was about to do.

"Listen, I can't get closer Bella. I don't have the strength. But you've always been a natural. Let him go. You've done nothing wrong, yet. Just let him go and run home as fast as you can. Nothing you've done so far can't be undone... Just... Let him live."

Alice saw Bella's head droop to the ground. Her hand was still on the man's throat, but she seemed to have given up.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, she let the man go. He fell to the ground, immediately got to his feet and scrambled away.

Alice let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

Bella didn't say a word to neither Jasper nor Alice as she started in the direction Jasper had come from.

Alice's blood was pounding through her veins, she couldn't feel her extremities.

When it was just me in my thoughts I thought I could handle this, but I'm not sure, this is too real, this is too much. I'm not sure I can handle this.

"Alice."

She sharply looked up to see Jasper Hale standing tall and in all of his glory.

"Jasper."

She didn't know what else to say. She didn't know what she could say.

Jasper ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "You weren't supposed to see that. You shouldn't be here in this alley. Bella shouldn't have come with you all… this is bad. Dammit."

Alice realized he wasn't speaking to her as he paced back and forth; he was panicking.

Suddenly, he whirled, turning to face her.

"Did you see what happened?"

She slowly nodded her head.

"Do you understand what just happened?"

She nodded her head again, this time opening her mouth to speak.

"I... I... I think I know. I'm sure I know. I just... I'm having trouble computing that this is real. I had my suspicions before, but this is just too real. I just-"

Jasper cut her off,

"Wait, what do you mean you've had suspicions? Do you really understand what's happening?"

She took a deep breath.

"I know what just happened, I already told you that. But, I'm confused, and shaken, and even though I know I'm right, I really want to be wrong."

"You're not wrong, Alice. This is very real and this is happening."

Jasper took several steps towards Alice, but she didn't back up. It wasn't because she was or was not scared. That hadn't even crossed her mind. She was in complete shock.

"Alice, what do you mean by 'you've had suspicions'?"

Alice didn't answer, she just stared wide-eyed at Jasper.

He bent down towards her, until his mouth was at her ear, and whispered "we need to talk."

And with four little words, Alice's life changed forever.

 **Read and review!**

 **Thanks!**

 **Olivia**


	10. Chapter 9

**HEY**

 **I really wanted to upload cause it's been like a year and a half or something, so I hope you like this chapter. Also, a really great reviewer brought somethings to my attention regarding Alice's last name, which I wrote as Brandon, and then called Charlie , Chief Swan, so let's make Alice's Last name Swan for right now and I'll go back and change it later. Hope ya like it.**

 _PREVIOUSLY: "I know what just happened, I already told you that. But, I'm confused, and shaken, and even though I know I'm right, I really want to be wrong."_

 _"You're not wrong, Alice. This is very real and this is happening."_

 _Jasper took several steps towards Alice, but she didn't back up. It wasn't because she was or was not scared. That hadn't even crossed her mind. She was in complete shock._

 _"Alice, what do you mean by 'you've had suspicions'?"_

 _Alice didn't answer, she just stared wide-eyed at Jasper._

 _He bent down towards her, until his mouth was at her ear, and whispered "we need to talk."_

 _And with four little words, Alice's life changed forever._

NOW:

Alice backed away from Jasper, slowly.

She was scared and suddenly the conversation she'd been dying to have with him was before her, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to have it.

"Look, Angela and Jessica are waiting for me inside. I can't just ditch them."

This was true. She couldn't just leave them.

"I guess you'll just have to tell them you'll see them at school on Monday, because this isn't a talk that can be avoided Alice. We need to discuss... what happened here."

Alice ran her hands over her arms, she wanted more than anything to go with Jasper and talk, but at the same time she was so terrified of it. She wasn't sure she was ready for him to say aloud what she already knew.

 _It's pretty much confirmed that Jasper and his family are...that... and I almost just watched Bella literally kill someone and... and... oh, gosh, I think I'm about to cry._

"Look," Alice swallowed the lump in her throat, looking to the ground, avoiding eye contact with Jasper. "I know we need to have this conversation, but I can't do it tonight. I'm exhausted Jasper, and I doubt I'll be able to handle whatever this little chat has in store, so I'm going to go back into the restaurant, make up some lame excuse for why Bella had to leave, and then, tomorrow you can come by my place, and we'll talk. My dad wont be home until later in the evening. We can talk then."

Alice hadn't realized her eyes were shut for the entirety of her little monologue, but when she opened them, Jasper was looking into them, half unsure-half furious.

Slowly, Alice became more and more aware of her situation, of this being in front of her. Her anger was rising with each passing moment. She couldn't sort out all her feelings anymore.

"Also, with that look on your face, I'm not entirely certain we should-"

Jasper cut off her snappy tone with a wave of his hand, the other resting on his hip.

"Alice, I'll ask that you stop talking for a second. Just calm down. I'm... stop."

Alice let out a woosh of her breath. It was like a wave of calmness washed over her, relaxing her.

They waited in silence for what seemed like an eternity until Jasper spoke again.

"I'll be at your house tomorrow at noon."

He swiftly turned and walked away, stoppied about 50 feet away from Alice, and turned halfway towards her. He waitied.

"Uh, anything else?"Alice asked awkwardly after a minute.

"Alice, what kind of man would I be if I left you in a dark alley alone? Go on inside, now."

Slowly, she walked to the alley door..

She stepped up the few stairs to the door, "Thanks, that's... sweet of you. I'm sure I would have been fine, but thanks."

Jasper let out a deep breath, "Alice, I'd never take that chance with you."

She turned to look at him, but he was staring at the wall in front of him. She could only see the back of his head. Part of her wanted to reach out and touch those soft curls. She fought that urge and immediately turned, opened the door, and entered the restaurant.

Alice approached Angela and Jessica who turned towards her, curious looks on their faces.

"Hey, where's Bella? Is everything okay?" Angela asked gently.

"Yeah, that was like, so weird. She basically ran out that back door."

Alice sat down in her chair and scooted closer to the table before answering.

"Yeah, she's going to be okay. She was just feeling really sick, and she didn't want to be a burden, so she said she was just going to take a cab home. I told her we could drive her, that it wasn't a big deal, but she insisted."

 _Okay, so winner of the worst liar award goes to me..._

Jessica narrowed her eyes at Alice as if she didn't quite believe her story, when suddenly two plates of food were brought over and placed in front of Angela and Jessica.

Angela quickly spoke, "Sorry Alice, you were out there a long time and so we went ahead and ordered."

Alice shook her head, "No, no, it's totally fine. I think I've lost my appetite anyway. I'm not hungry at all."

"You sure?" Jessica piped up.

"Yeah, totally. Don't worry about it," Alice said with a forced smile.

 _I'd probably just throw it up anyway._

Xxxx

The car ride home was more than a little awkward. Alice was unusually quite in the back seat, consumed by thoughts of what would happen the next day.

 _What if he doesnt show up?_

 _What if he pretends like nothing happened?_

 _What if he..._

"Alice!"

Immediately Alice was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Jessicas voice.

Alice realized they had stopped and the car was parked outside of her house.

"Oh, sorry. I really am feeling sick, I should probably just go lie down."

Jessica and Angela had turned to look at her, worried expressions on their faces.

"Are you sure you're okay, Alice?"Angela asked dutifully.

"Yeah, I must have gotten whatever it is that Bella has." Alice responded as she opened the car door and stepped onto the pavement of her driveway.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be totally fine. See you guys later."

"Okay, well text me if you need anything," Jessica called out right before Alice shut the door of the car.

Quickly, Alice walked to her front door and pulled her house key out, unlocking the door and hurrying inside.

She could feel her blood pumping faster, her heart beating harder. She wiped the sweat from her brow.

Alice was dizzy, and she felt sick to her stomach.

It was like all of the events of the past few weeks had finally caught up with her and she wasn't handling the situation well at all.

She trudged up the stairs and managed to open her bedroom door while pulling her boots off her feet.

 _Bed, bed, bed, be-_

"Alice."

Alice looked up in the direction her name had just come from, her knee barely missing the desk at her side.

"What the HELL?" she yelled loudly, taken by surprise.

Her eyes met golden ones as she steadied her gait.

"What the heck are you doing in my room? How did you get into my house? The door is locked and I -"

"Alice, if you keep yelling like that, one of the neighbors is bound to hear and I don't think your father would appreciate hearing that you were screaming so loud with a boy over."

Alice blushed crimson and her eyes went wide as saucers, "I'm.. wait.. did you just.. was that an innuendo?" she blurted.

Jasper remained clam but raised an eyebrow, "Pardon me?"

"Oh, uh, nevermind. I think I'm going crazy."

 _You can lie all you want, Jasper Hale, but you just used an innuendo._

"So what exactly are you doing here?"

Jasper answered soft, but his voice full of intent.

"Alice, I thought we'd agreed to talk about all of this?"

"Yeah, we did, but we also agreed to do it tomorrow, remember? You went all serious and intense and said 'i'll be there at noon tomorrow.' Does that ring a bell?"

Jasper scowled at her imitation of him. "I don't talk like that."

Alice pointed a finger at him, "Yes, you do. All southern and deep and scowly and... and... and,"

Alice realized she was much closer to him than she'd been five seconds earlier, having stepped forward. Her steps in between words.

She looked into his eyes.

 _They're so bright and deep,_

 _I could get lost..._

Jasper leaned towards her, slowly he bent lower so they were closer together. His nose barely brushed her temple and he inhaled

"Don't move." he whispered, laying his cold hands gently on her shoulders.

"Okay," Alice whispered back.

Closer he came to her, his eyes darting from her mouth to her eyes.

Alice closed her eyes slowly, letting herself fall into the moment.

Her pulse raced, anticipation flowing through her veins. She could smell him, like the woods and something deeper, more seductive.

She waited for the moment his mouth would touch hers... any second, any second...

she could feel his proximity, and then...

Nothing.

Alice opened her eyes slowly, half unsuprised half disappointed.

His hands were still on her arms, cold and gentle.

His eyes were closed, his brow was furrowed and his face was turned slightly to the side.

She stared unabashley at his perfect face, so full of hurt.

"Jasper," she whispered into the quiet air, her eyes searching his face.

"Alice... I cant. God, I want to, but I can't hurt you. I don't know if I can without hurting you."

Jasper stepped away quickly, running his hand down his face. He stared at the wall to the left of her, then slowly turned to look at her.

"You know about me. You know and you were going to let me kiss you."

Alice gulped,

 _Here goes nothing._

"Y-yea." she swallowed hard, clearing her throat and willing her eyes to stay dry.

He let out an exasperated breath and chuckled darkly before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Alice, i've never felt resentment for what I am. I have regrets, but if I could go back and change what I am, I wouldn't. I'm stronger now, I can handle the urges, I can control myself around people... but, Jesus, Alice, not around you." He stepped towards her. Alice was frozen to the floor.

"Are you talking about you being a...a vamp-"

"Yes." He cut her off quickly, interrupting her declaration.

"Why me, then?" she asked confused.

"I wish I knew. Alice, you're like a beacon of light among souls of sadness. Your energy and happiness and kindness- they radiate. I can't quite explain it, but... the predatory part of me wants to kill you, but another part of me just wants to hold on so tight I could break you."

Alice couldn't think, she couldn't breath. This boy, this beautiful boy wanted her, and he also wanted to kill her. A part of her so intent on survival rose to the surface, and in the midst of her fear, courage shined through.

"Jasper... if you think you'll hurt me, then leave. Just get out how you came. I'm not stupid enough to pretend to know enough about you to say you wont hurt me. If you're worried, i'm terrified." she paused, then continued. "But if you think that you'll resist... then hold onto the part of you that wants me, because... well, I don't know why, but just do it."

Jasper looked at Alice, then cast his eyes to the floor. "Bella feels terrible about tonight. Generally she's so careful, but I think it's been too long since her last... ahh..." he didn't finish

Alice gulped, crossing her hands over her chest. "yeah, I can imagine. Well, actually I can't imagine, not even a little bit, but uh, it sounds... hard."

Jasper let out a strangled laugh, not hint of amusement on his face. "It's harder than you could ever imagine."

 _no..no..no.. you are not a pervert, you will not laugh. He didn't mean it that way... don't...laugh..._

"Are you okay, Alice? You're face is turning red."

a torrent of giggles released from her throat, "You said... it's harder... than... I could.. ever... imagine!" Alice spoke through her incessant laughter.

Jasper rolled his eyes at her, but a small smirk appeared on his face. Her laughter was contagious. She had just witnessed something most humans never would, and here she was, enjoying herself despite the lunacy of the night.

His smirk grew wider as her laughter grew louder, the infectious nature of her energy radiating into his soul. He began chuckling.

Soon, their laughter tangled together and somehow her hand had become twisted with his.

Their faces closer than either realized. Their breath mingling, until neither could laugh anymore. They were too close again. This time their bodies were inches apart. Alice looked up at him, gazing into a gods face.

"You're like a china doll, Alice. Beautiful, and untouchable, and fragile. But... one touch couldn't break you... right? Just one.."

"I'm not so fragile." she whispered to him.

His fingers grazed her cheek, softly. Feeling her life force just under her skin.

They leaned together, separated but fractions of an inch.

"Alice, think the most calming thoughts right now. Stay calm. Stay so... so... calm."

She closed her eyes, so close, almost there.

His lips rested gently on hers.

It was sweet and soft and kind. The kiss of a prince to a princess.

It was strange, this passion in her gut. It wasn't ruled by a desire to rip clothes off and ferociously take this man in front of her. It was calm.

They continued their kiss, walking until her legs hit her bed and she sat down instinctively. He followed her. Stretching out to kiss her. His lips trailing her cheek, down her jawline, onto her neck.

Still she was calm.

Or trying to be.

It pulse was quickening with every moment, a pooling heat in her gut. She was burning now, different from a moment ago, and things weren't moving quite as fast as they could be.

She gripped his hair, the glorious hair she'd been dying to touch. It was soft and curly and beautiful.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, urging him closer.

His hands were everywhere. Her shoulders, her face and hair, her waist... he touched the bare skin of her belly, and they both stilled.

His eyes met hers in a silent warning. She wasn't ready for that. He knew that as well as she. His hands traveled to her arms.

Safe.

Once again their lips meeting. This time more intensely than before. Mouths moving, teeth clashing, tongues tangled.

She sighed into his mouth, whispering his name softly. He sank lower on the bed, his chest almost touching hers now.

She gripped his hair tighter, longing for closeness, he granted.

They were lost in the moment, so lost.

They were closer than ever, hands roaming, inhibitions rising.

He whispered her name, over and over.

She whispered his, like an echo.

Kiss.

Pull.

Close.

Together.

CRACK!

He pulled back, panic in his eyes.

Her breath whooshed out, her face paralized in confusion and pain.

For a moment nothing happened.

The stillness as loud as the quiet.

Immediately her hand went to her left ribs. She touched carefully. Pain blossomed, her eyes met his, panic now evident across her face.

He whispered her name one last time, all the fear of the war and his past a mere drop in the ocean he was in now.

A tear rolled down her face, followed by a sob.

In the distance, a car door slammed shut. Charlie was home.

 **LOL. Sorry that kinda sucks.**

 **Okay, she cracked a rib. Big deal, but in the grand scheme, she'll be totally fine.**

 **You didn't think it'd be that easy, right?**

 **Thanks,**

 **Olivia**


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